Ah, Italia
by TheMezzinator
Summary: With Ziva reassigned back to Mossad, Tony reluctantly accepts an overseas assignment. Chapter 19 now available.
1. Chapter 1

Ah, Italia!

Not much TIVA at first but lots later. Set sometime in season 7. Please excuse any geography errors.

NCIS Squad Room

Tony looked over at Ziva's old desk for the 1000th time that week. He missed her, wished her father had not recalled her to Israel, wanted, no needed, to hear her voice and hold her in his arms again. His attempts to communicate with her by normal channels had failed miserably. Nearly four months had passed since her father had recalled her. Like a dutiful daughter, she had obeyed without hesitation. But not before accepting Tony's tearful and heartfelt marriage proposal.

As always, special agent Tom Bradford looked up at Tony, when the older agent glanced in his direction. Sensing that Tony was, again, thinking about Ziva, he went back to work. Bradford was a good agent, by any standard. An ex-marine like Gibbs, the tall, slightly built African-American agent was proficient in martial arts and small arms and a pretty good investigator. Not as good as Ziva but good enough to meet Gibbs' strict requirements.

"DiNozzo, with me," ordered Senior Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, as he hung up the phone. "Director Vance wants to see us right now."

"On your six, boss," Tony replied, hastily getting up and following Gibbs upstairs. "Any ideas what's going on?"

"No, but I doubt it's good," Gibbs said, stepping up the pace, forcing Tony to move faster.

Tony said nothing else all the way to the Director's office. Whatever was going on had to be big to get Gibbs to move that fast. He nodded to Cynthia as Gibbs went straight into the Director's office. NCIS Director Leon Vance was dressed in fine Armani suit and looked up bemused as Gibbs barged in with DiNozzo right behind him.

"You wanted to see us, Director?" Gibbs asked, looking at Leon's grim expression with some concern. He prayed that nothing had happened to Ziva. Losing her would be a devastating blow to Tony.

"Yes," Leon replied, standing up and picking up a thick personnel folder and a thinner manila folder. He motioned them over to the conference table. When they were all seated, he began. "How well do you two know Kip Bellasario?"

"He runs the NCIS-Naples, Italy office," Gibbs replied. "Good man."

"Yeah, I met him once a few years ago at a counter-terrorism seminar. It was back when you were on your Mexican vacation, boss" Tony said, nodding in remembrance. "Man, he could really knock down those sake bombs."

Leon quirked a slight smile at Tony's expression. "Unfortunately, he was killed in a car wreck a few hours ago outside a small town called Posillipo near Naples."

Gibbs nodded at the grim news. Tony lowered his head for a moment, silently bidding farewell to another fallen comrade. "This accident brings up an even bigger problem. Bellasario's team is in the middle of a major arms trafficking investigation. His death could set this case back months."

"So, you want my team to go to Naples and wrap the investigation?" Gibbs asked.

"No," Leon said, surprising both men. He slid the manila folder over to Tony. "You have an exemplary record, agent DiNozzo. You are well-respected by your peers and supervisor. It's time for you to step up and assume command of your own team."

Tony was dumbfounded by the offer. "Well, sir," he stammered, opening up the folder containing his transfer orders. What could he possibly say? Should he take the job. He loved his position as Gibbs' second-in-command but since Ziva left the job wasn't as much fun as before. "I don't know what to say. This certainly is an honor but umm..."

"Take the job, Tony," Gibbs urged. "You've earned it."

"But, boss, the team..."

Gibbs sighed. "Nothing lasts forever, Tony."

"Ok," Tony conceded, waiting a moment to digest this news. "When do I start?"

* * *

"Sir? There's been a development regarding the NCIS team in Naples."

The Director read the report silently. He shook his head as he skimmed the details of the accident report. A shame. Bellasario had been a good man. For an American. Bellasario's death would set back their investigation by many months. Possibly giving his own people time to shut the flow of arms into Israel. His unspoken question about who would take over the NCIS team lead role was answered in the last paragraph.

He set the report back on his desk and leaned back in his chair. This was an unexpected development. He considered the possibilities and effect it would have on his own operations in Naples. Handing the report back to his aide, he said,"See that this is passed on through the normal channels."

"Yes, sir."


	2. Chapter 2

Ah, Italia!

Not much TIVA at first but lots later. Set sometime in season 7. Please excuse any geography errors.

NCIS Naples squad room

One week later

Tony was exhausted. The last few days had been crazy. He'd only been given a couple of days to pack his belongings and fly to Naples, where he'd initially stayed at a small hotel while he tried to find a more permanent place to live. He hoped to God that wherever Ziva was, her contacts would let her know about his promotion and transfer.

"Report!" Tony said, looking around the squad bay at his team. They were a solid group, though each was still mourning the loss of Kip in their own way. His initial meeting with them had been a somber affair. He'd missed Kip's funeral but had managed to squeeze in some time with them for a farewell dinner.

Kate Orselli, Kip's second-in-command, was working herself into an early grave, trying to solve the arms-smuggling case she'd been working on with Kip. Tony attributed her fire to wanting to make Kip's death have some meaning. From her file, he knew she was from Sacramento, California and had been an FBI agent for four years before joining NCIS. She was cute, in a girl-next-door kind of way, in her mid-30's with her brown hair cut in an angled bob style. "Still nothing here, Tony. I've gone over the records of all Navy and Marine personnel assigned to the armory and I can't find any links to the missing shipments."

"What about the civilian contractors and locals, Jamie?" Tony inquired. The biggest problem with this investigation was the sheer number of people who needed to be vetted. It wasn't a difficult task to search the records of all the American personnel but getting permission to search the hundreds of Italian contractors who worked in the area was another matter. Kip's team had been working on culling the list for nearly two months before his untimely demise.

Jamie Hatcher, the team's computer geek, looked nothing the stereotype. He was a handsome young man, barely twenty-eight years old. Solidly built and with a infectious smile, he was very popular with the local ladies. Tony noted that Jamie was good at his job but not quite as good as McGee. Tony gathered from conversations with his other team members that Kip had taken the young man under his wing and grooming him for advancement. It wasn't until a team dinner a few night ago that Tony learned that Jamie had lost his younger sister to a drunk driver back in the States several years before. Hatcher's parents had died while he was in college leaving him with only his sister. Now, Hatcher felt alone in the world and had opted to console himself in the arms of as many women as possible. Tony hoped Hatcher would snap out of his funk on his own.

"It's slow going, Tony," he said. "All the personnel files, bank records and so on we've been to get a hold of are in Italian, so I'm having to run everything through a translator program and then double check everything before I hand it off to Vince and Kate."

"Vince, what have you got?" Tony replied. Like Tony, Vince had worked for the Chicago Police Department before heading off to work for the government. Vince was the one agent Tony was the least confident in. He was a nice enough guy and a hard worker but he seemed incapable of making the necessary intuitive leaps needed to be a top flight investigator.

Vince was an African-American, with a shaved head, who stood a few inches shorter than Tony but much heavier and all the extra weight was pure muscle. He seemed to be perpetually frowning at something. An expression that was very ominous-looking to anyone who didn't know him. "I'm in the same boat as Kate. I can't find any links between the base personnel and the missing weapons. Also, I've been going over the reports from the armory."

Tony turned his attention to the report Vince handed to him. There were some glaring inconsistencies and duplicate records but the overall trends it showed were nothing out of the ordinary. With a quiet sigh, Tony motioned Vince to sit down and they began to pour over the report.

* * *

**translated from the Hebrew**

"Officer Meier? We're ready to begin," Mossad Field Officer Rivka Goldman said. She wondered why the senior officer was so intent on investigating the NCIS personnel assigned to track down the same missing weapons. Tracking down and stopping the flow of stolen U.S. Marine Corps weapons was a higher priority than

"Very well," replied Senior Field Officer Lisa Meier, turning away from the cork board covered with photos of the NCIS personnel and several other prime suspects. Tall and lean with long brown hair currently tied into a ponytail, Lisa projected a cool, dedicated professional exterior. She knew her teammates had surreptitiously checked on her records after she'd been assigned the team leadership three months ago. What little they'd been able to find had merely reinforced what they suspected. Lisa Meier was a killer.

"Uri, what have you got?" Lisa asked, sitting down at the circular table with her teammates. She accepted a cup of jasmine tea from Officer Gabriella Adelman, her communications specialist. Uri Ginsberg, her intel analyst, was slightly built with a mop of curly black hair and a barely regulation beard. He seemed to have contacts everywhere and she found his analysis very useful and concise.

"Hmm, yes, well, as you all know, NCIS team leader, Kip Bellasario, was killed in a traffic accident six days ago. His replacement, NCIS Special Agent, Anthony DiNozzo..."

"What?!" Lisa exclaimed, nearly dropping her cup of tea.

"You know him, Officer Meier?" asked Gabriella.

"Yes, we did some work together a few years ago. Black on black," Lisa replied. "So, he finally got his own team. Well done. Well done. Please continue, Uri."

"Hmm, yes, well. Agent DiNozzo arrived in Naples the day before yesterday. He's currently staying at the Hotel Sant'Angelo."

"Sant'Angelo? That's pretty pricey for a government employee. How can he afford it?" asked Rivka.

"Hmm, yes, well. He's only booked there for two weeks. Presumably while he searches for a more permanent place to live," Uri replied.

"Permanent?" Lisa queried.

"Yes, Naples will be his home base for the next two years."

Lisa took another sip from her tea, lost in thought. After a moment, she nodded for Uri to continue again.

"He was born in the northeastern United States, went to several boarding schools before his family settled in Philadelphia. Attended Ohio State University where he was a standout athlete. Worked for the Chicago and Baltimore police departments before joining NCIS ten years ago. Agent DiNozzo's record since then is somewhat colorful. He's been involved in a number of high profile cases, rather unusual in that he's little more than a glorified police officer. He has a reputation as a womanizer, which we might be able to use, and has an obsession with cinema. There's also a rumor, unconfirmed, that he was engaged in a brief sexual relationship with the Director's daughter, Ziva, whose current whereabouts are unknown, up until a few months ago."

All heads turned as Gabriella gasped aloud. "I bet he got her pregnant! That's it! That's got to be it." Everyone stopped to consider Gabriella's theory. "Why else would she have disappeared so thoroughly?"

Lisa laughed aloud at the speculation. "So, little one, you think Ziva went into hiding out of shame for bearing a child whose father isn't Jewish? I don't think so. I know Ziva and Tony and they are very much in love. Whatever reason is keeping them apart, I can assure you it's very important."

"She's gone deep undercover, then," said Aharon, the team security expert.

"Did you ever sleep with agent DiNozzo, officer Meier?" the excitable communications officer asked. Lisa had quickly learned that Gabriella was the person to go to for the latest gossip. The spunky young woman had a knack for digging up more scandal than the best intel analyst.

Lisa paused for a moment to consider her response. Finally, she said, "One gets very little sleep when there's an amorous Tony DiNizzo in the same bedroom. Or living room. Kitchen. Shower. The man's inhuman that way."

"Wow," Gabriella said, wide-eyed. This was going to be her best assignment yet, she knew.

"I think we're straying a bit off-topic, Gabby" Rivka interjected.

"Yes, please continue, Uri," Lisa said.

**end translation**


	3. Chapter 3

Ah, Italia!

Not much TIVA at first but lots later. Set sometime in season 7.

What's this? A little office politics going on here? Hmm....

A/N: RL's been a real pain lately. I haven't had time to update any of my stories the last few weeks.

NCIS Squadroom

Naples, Italy

Two days later, 0730AM

NCIS Senior Agent Kate Orselli reviewed for the millionth time the data Jamie had compiled for her. She and Kip had worked for weeks on this investigation and had made little progress. Whoever was behind the arms smuggling ring was certainly well connected. They had infiltrated several layers of security, both internal and computer, and were able to walk off with literally crates of weapons and ammunition from the Marine Corps depot. Much of which were turning up in the Middle East. It was frustrating. It had been even more so for Kip, who had personally known some of the personnel working in the depot. He'd been working hard to clear their names when he'd had his accident.

She glanced up as Jamie sat down on the edge of her desk. "So, what do you think of DiNozzo?" he asked.

Kate shrugged, then sat back in her chair. She glanced over at Tony's empty desk. "Where is he?" she replied. The last thing she wanted was to have her new boss overhear her gossiping about him.

"Up in MTAC, talking with the Director," Jamie said.

Kate thought for a moment about Jamie's question. Much of what she knew of Tony DiNozzo was second- or third-hand stories. "He's only been here for a week, Jamie. It's too soon to tell." She paused for a moment. "He's not the person I've heard about, though. Something's changed him. He's far more serious than what I've heard. He's supposed to be the class clown. His attitude here has been anything but that. The really surprising thing is how long it's taken him to get his own team."

"What do you mean?"

"I called around when I heard he was going to be our new team leader. By all accounts, he's a damned good investigator and leader. And, he did a great job when he took over temporarily for Gibbs a few years ago. He should've had his own team a long time ago. "

Jamie frowned slightly. "I heard he's quite the player and a little crazy."

Kate grinned. "Don't worry, Jamie. My virtue is safe. Scuttlebutt has it he hooked up with some Israeli agent who was assigned to his team in DC. When she left a few months ago, he took it pretty hard."

"That doesn't sound like the DiNozzo I've heard about."

Kate shrugged. "You get older, things change. Maybe he found the right girl but she slipped through his fingers. As for crazy, he's certainly a little unorthodox, I'll grant you. I hope he doesn't plan on making a habit of this 'campfire' thing."

Jamie laughed. "That's a little annoying, isn't it?"

"Just a little," Kate agreed. An alert on her monitor caught her attention. "Well, now. That's interesting."

"What is it?" asked Jamie.

"I think we have our first solid lead."

* * *

MTAC

"Whoever is behind this, Director, really knows his stuff," Tony said to the video image of NCIS Director Leon Vance. "Kip's notes indicate that someone within the depot is altering shipment records after the manifest has been entered into the system. Which is supposed to be impossible for the personnel there. No one there has the necessary clearance to do that."

The Director frowned. "That's not much more than what Kip reported to me last week."

Tony chuckled. "Sir, I've only been here a couple of days. It's taken me this long just to get up to speed."

"I understand, Agent DiNozzo, but we're getting a lot of pressure from Israel to stop the flow of arms to Hamas."

Tony snorted derisively. "Well, tell Papa Bear this'd move faster if I had, say, a Mossad Liaison Officer to coordinate our efforts. I have the perfect one in mind. She's a great investigator and has numerous contacts here in Italy."

"That will be enough, Agent DiNozzo. That's not going to happen," the Director said angrily. "I will not tolerate such blatant disrespect towards the head of an allied intelligence agency."

"Noted, sir," Tony said coolly. Ziva hadn't replied to any of his emails in over a month. For all he knew, she was lying dead in a ditch somewhere and that bastard who called himself her father hadn't bothered to let NCIS know. He squashed that thought immediately. He knew, deep within his heart, she was still alive. His best guess was that whatever op she was on prevented her from maintaining regular contact with him.

"Do you have anything else to report?" Vance asked.

"The weather's quite lovely for this time of year," Tony said flippantly. He began to entertain the Director with more DiNozzo wit but was interrupted by his cellphone ringing. "DiNozzo," he answered, listening for a moment. "Right. We're on the way."

"Gotta go, sir," Tony said to Vance. "A dead Marine floated ashore a little while ago."

"Get to it, then, DiNozzo," Vance replied. "I want daily updates on the smuggling case."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

**translated from the Hebrew**

"Officer Meier?" Rivka said tentatively. "We may have a problem."

Lisa looked up from the reports she'd been going over. "What is it?"

"Our asset at the depot has not reported in today," said Rivka. "It's not like him to be late. I called his office, posing as his girlfriend, and they said he hadn't reported for duty today. He's three hours late already."

Lisa pondered the significance. The asset was well placed in the depot's chain of command, a sergeant with access to many sensitive areas. "Has he used any of the distress codes? Or, given any sign he might have been compromised?"

"No," replied Rivka, worry showing plainly. "Nothing like that, at all."

"Is something wrong?" asked Lisa.

Rivka sighed. "I recruited him. He's a distant cousin from the American side of the family. If anything's happened to him..."

Lisa shook her head. This was a situation she'd seen many times before. An officer would get to emotionally involved with an asset, crippling the officer's ability to interact with him. Or, cut him loose if it became necessary. "These things happen, Rivka. It is a unfortunate result of the work we do. You cannot let yourself become emotionally involved or it will compromise your ability to think clearly and possibly get you both killed."

"I understand, Officer Meier," Rivka said stiffly, hating the other woman for a moment. Not all field officers were heartless killers.

"Keep an eye on the local news to see if there's any reports about him. Have Aharon check his apartment, just to be sure."

"Yes, Officer Meier," Rivka acknowledged.

Lisa waited until Rivka had left the room before reaching under desk drawer and pulling free a picture taped to the bottom. The picture of her beloved made her heart ache. He was her only weakness. The reason she had been forced to take this assignment. She studied the picture for a moment more and then replaced it. She picked up her phone and dialed an extension. "Gabby? I need to speak with the Director as soon as possible."

* * *

NCIS Squadroom

Tony strode quickly into the squadroom and headed towards his desk. "Gear up! Dead marine floated up on the beach. Jamie, gas the truck. Vince, ride with him. Kate, you and I will go together." He scribbled the location on a piece of paper and handed it to Vince. "Here's the location, Vince. Doc Blanchard and Riley are on their way there now."

"Hey, Tony," said Kate as she grabbed her gun from her desk drawer and reached for her backpack. "I think we've got a lead on the arms smuggling ring."

Tony sighed. "Not now, Kate. We'll get to it when we get back. Let's move out, people!"


	4. Chapter 4

Ah, Italia pt 4

Let the fun begin!

* * *

Via Nazario Sauro

Naples, Italy

30 minutes later

Tony cautiously made his way down the rockstrewn breaker towards two Naples police officers and a plain clothes detective waited. Off in the distance, he could see another detective talking to an elderly couple, probably the people who spotted the body. Behind him, Kate barked orders to Vince and Jamie to set up a perimeter and begin checking for evidence. Tony waved at the detective. "_Good morning, officers. My name is Anthony DiNozzo, SAIC for NCIS-Naples_," he said in a slightly flawed Italian accent.

"Good morning, Agent DiNozzo. I am detective Nico Bianchi," replied the detective, in heavily accented English. "You are Agent Bellasario's replacement, yes?"

Tony smiled. "I'm just the guy who got his job." Tony hid his relief well. His Italian was a bit rusty. Detective Bianchi's English was rough but understandable. "What do we have here?"

Nico pointed off towards the elderly couple. "Signor and Signora Campisi were going for a morning stroll when they spotted the body in the water. They called the police. Officers Romano and Moretti were the first to arrive on the scene. They did a quick examination of the body and called for assistance. I checked the body and found his military ID in his wallet. That's when I spoke with my lieutenant. He is the one who called NCIS."

Tony looked at the waterlogged corpse. "Has anyone moved the body or disturbed the scene?" He nodded to Kate, who took up her camera and began taking photos of the scene.

"No. Not while we were here. Romano and Moretti know procedure well. They cordoned off the area while I was driving here. They and I wore gloves while examining the body. Before that, I cannot say." Nico reached into his pocket, pulled out a US military-issue identity card and handed it to Tony. "Here is the ID card I retrieved from his wallet."

"_Grazie_," said Tony. A new set of flashing lights announced the arrival of the NCIS medical examiner. He nodded politely to Nico and headed up to greet the ME, Dr. Emmett Blanchard. "What's up, Doc?" Tony said in greeting.

Emmett Blanchard was quite different from Ducky Mallard. Emmett, or 'Doc' as he preferred, was one of the more jovial people Tony had met. A heavyset, bearded Caucasian male in his early fifties with balding hair, Doc didn't quit fit the profile of a medical examiner. His attitude belied the seriousness of his job. "Good morning, Agent DiNozzo. How are you this fine morning?"

"Up to my eyes in conspiracies and dead bodies, unfortunately," Tony replied candidly. He wasn't certain to make of Doc. Tony had called Ducky to see if he knew anything about the Naples ME. Ducky had reassured him that Emmett was quite capable and had served as the Naples ME for nearly ten years. This would be their first time working together in the field.

"So, it goes," Emmett replied cryptically, walking with Tony down towards the body. "Let's see what we have here." He looked over at Kate, who gave him the 'all-clear' to begin examining the body, lying facedown in the surf. "No obvious trauma to the back, arms or legs. Wait a second. What have we hear?" Emmett said, looking closely at a wound on the victim's neck. "You see this, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Call me 'Tony'," Tony replied. He knelt down for a closer look. "Kate, get some photos of this," he ordered. He stepped aside while Kate took several pictures. When she was done, he moved next to the body again. "Single stab wound to the side of the neck. Looks like the blade was twisted after it was inserted. Death would have been quick with all the blood loss. Hmm... interesting."

"What have you got, Tony," asked Kate.

"Just a second. Doc, gimme a hand turning him over," Tony said. Together, the two men turned the victim over gently. "Yeah, it's what I thought." He said when the victim was lifted off the ground momentarily.

"Hold on, guys. Let me take some photos first," Kate said, kneeling down to take photos of the rocks the victim had been lying on. "Ok, I'm done."

"Did you see what I saw, Kate?" Tony inquired.

"Yeah. There's no blood on the rocks," Kate answered, then turned to look out at the sea. "He wasn't killed here. He probably floated in with the tide."

Tony watched idly as Doc inserted a liver probe. "That's not going to tell us much, Doc. As cold as the water is, the TOD is going to be off by several hours. Is he wearing a watch?"

Emmett beamed at him. "Very good, Tony," he said, checking the victim's wrists for a watch. "Ah, here we go. A good old-fashion analog watch. Looks like it stopped at 9:12."

"All right. Let's find out who 'Jacob Goldman' is," Tony said.

* * *

NCIS – Washington Naval Yard

same time

"You wanted to see me, Leon?" Gibbs asked, walking into the Director's office.

Leon looked up, not sure why he wasn't surprised at Gibbs's abrupt entrance. "It could've waited until tomorrow," he said, looking at his watch. Gibbs waited patiently for Leon to continue. "I'm beginning to have some doubts about DiNozzo."

"Don't," was all Gibbs said.

"He was disrespectful towards Director David," complained Leon.

"So? It's not like he doesn't have reason to be pissed at the man," Gibbs countered. "What's going on, Leon? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"The Israeli's are pushing hard for results with the Naples arms smuggling investigation," Leon said. "Too many American weapons are winding up in their enemies' hands. They want it to stop. Now."

"Or, they'll take action themselves? Is that what you're worried about?"

"There is that possibility," Leon conceded.

Gibbs laughed silently. "How do you know they haven't already? It's not like Mossad to announce their intentions. Director David probably already has an agent in place, waiting for orders to strike."

Leon nodded, accepting the possibility. "Which is why I need a strong team leader there to handle this case quickly."

Gibbs nodded. "Then what's the problem?" Gibbs smiled and cocked his head to one side. "Or, is DiNozzo not the little puppet you thought he'd be?"

Leon gave him a very cool look. "That will be all, Gibbs."

* * *

** translated from the Hebrew **

Mossad safehouse

Naples, Italy

one hour later

"Shalom, Director," Lisa greeted the Mossad Director as he answered the phone.

"Shalom," replied Director Eli David. "Do you have something to report?"

"There is a possibility we may have been compromised. One of our assets within the Marine depot did not report for duty this morning," Lisa informed him.

"That could be nothing," the Director replied.

"I agree, but he isn't answering his cell and Officer Aharon has learned that he didn't come home last night. If he has been captured by whomever is behind the smuggling ring, there is a chance he could provide information that could prove dangerous to this operation."

The Director paused for a moment to consider the possibilities. "Has he had any contact with any other of your team members?"

"No," she replied. "Just Officer Goldman."

The Director consider this information, as well. He'd seen too many operations fail because operatives didn't trust their instincts. "Proceed at your discretion."

"Yes, sir," Lisa hesitated before continuing. "He's here." They both knew who she was referring to.

"I know," replied the Director. He could sense her uneasiness over the phone. "You will proceed with the operation as planned."

"Sir, it's only a matter of time before I come into contact with him," Lisa stated. "NCIS's involvement is only going to grow if they are called into investigate our assets disappearance."

"Irrelevant. Your orders are clear: find out who is smuggling out the American weapons and eliminate them. Since NCIS is clearly incapable of stopping the flow of weapons, we must take action ourselves!"

Lisa feared the worst. The Director had become increasingly distrustful of the Americans the last few years. The recent election of a new president had done little to sooth him. This situation had the potential for severely damaging US/Israeli relations. She found herself with only one gambit to try. "Aren't our relations with the Americans strained enough?" snapped Lisa. "You would throw gas on a fire just to have your own way."

"You will obey your orders! Eliminate this threat to Israel using any means necessary!" Director David roared.

Lisa smiled. For all his towering ego and enormous gravitas, the Director could be surprisingly easy to manipulate if handled properly. "Yes, sir. Through any means necessary."

Director David barely had time to recognize his mistake before she hung up the phone. He chuckled to himself at how he'd let himself be tricked so easily. _Well done, my child. Well done._

** end translation **

* * *

NCIS Squad room

Naples, Italy

Three hours after arriving at crime scene

Tony plopped wearily down in his desk chair. He looked around and noticed the others were looking to him for direction. "Ok, Jamie, find out who our vic is."

"On it, Tony," Jamie said, typing away at his keyboard. "Got him. Staff Sergeant Jacob Goldman. He's from the Bronx. Ok, he's a marine stationed here in Naples... at the weapons depot." He said, before putting Jacobs file up on the plasma.

Tony whistled. That last fact caught everyone's attention. This was not a simple murder anymore. "All right. Vince, go talk to his CO, find out everything you can about him. And then talk to his co-workers, friends, anybody who might know where he was last night. Dig deep, this could be related to the arms smuggling ring. Jamie, go over his financials, look under every electronic rock you can. I want to know everything there is know about Sergeant Goldman before the end of the day. Kate, with me," he said, getting up from his desk.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Lunch," Tony said, smiling. "Then you can tell me about your new lead in the smuggling ring."

Kate smiled, ignoring the dirty looks from Vince and Jamie. "You got it, Tony. I know this great little cafe not far from the main gate." She grabbed her bag and fell in place next to Tony as he led the way out.

As they approached the main entrance, a Marine security guard approached Tony. "Sir," the lance corporal said, "there's a woman here to see you."

Tony nodded, looking around. "Where is she?"

"Hello, Tony," said a hauntingly familiar voice from behind him.

Tony turned slowly towards the speaker. "Thank you, corporal. That will be all," he said, dismissing the marine. For one of the very few times in his life, Tony was at a loss for words.

Kate looked back and forth between Tony and the speaker. The two women were the same height but the other woman's complexion indicated a Middle Eastern background. She was well-dressed for the climate, her long brown hair tied off in a ponytail. "You two know each other?" she asked Tony, who seemed stunned to see the visitor.

Lisa stepped forward, extending her hand in greeting to Kate. "Mossad Field Officer Lisa Meier. Tony and I worked together a few times back in the States."


	5. Chapter 5

Ah, Italia pt 5

R & R please!

* * *

Mossad safehouse

Naples, Italy

two hours ago

"Officer Meier, I strongly disagree with this course of action," protested Rivka. "You cannot go to NCIS headquarters so overtly. You are exposing yourself to needless risk."

"Your objection is noted, Officer Goldman," Lisa Meier replied coolly.

Rivka stood her ground before her team leader. "The American's cannot be trusted to handle this. They have been working on this smuggling ring for nearly five months now with nothing to show for it."

"And, what does that tell you, Officer Goldman," Lisa inquired.

Rivka fumed silently but said nothing. She had worked other gun smuggling rings before. Corruption was inevitably a part of the smuggling rings' tactics. For the cost of paying off a few well-placed local police officers and authorities, smugglers could slip their shipments of death in and out of any port or city with relative ease. She disagreed with Lisa's assessment that there was a mole within NCIS who was providing intel to the smugglers. She found it hard to believe that the small NCIS teams would be targeted by the smugglers with such tactics. NCIS did not have the influence in Italy that it did in America. Logically, then, the port authorities and local police forces were more ideal candidates. If Lisa was correct, however, then she could be exposing herself to undue risk if a member of the Naples office or, even, Agent DiNozzo's team was working for the smugglers. "I cannot stop you, Officer Meier, but I do urge caution. If someone from NCIS is involved, then there is no one there you can trust."

Lisa smiled thinly. "You're wrong, Rivka. There is one person there I trust with my life."

* * *

NCIS

Naples, Italy

now

Kate looked back and forth at Tony and Lisa again. "So, I guess we're ordering in?" she said as Tony turned around and led the trio back to the squad room. "Hi, I'm..." Kate started to say.

"Senior Special Agent Kate Orselli" Lisa finished. "Yes, I know." She glanced at Tony as he looked back at her.

"How long have you known Tony?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow at Lisa. How much did the Israeli know about NCIS? Her instincts were practically screaming at her. There was something going on between Tony and Lisa. She couldn't determine, yet, if the two had a deep personal connection or if Tony's concern was more work related.

"Several years now. NCIS and Mossad worked together on several classified missions. Tony and I got to be 'very' good friends," Lisa replied amiably. "Does he still do that silly 'campfire' thing," she whispered in a not-so conspiratorial tone. Lisa smiled at Kate, who rolled her eyes in agreement and sighed at the comment. The two women nearly collided with Tony as he stopped abruptly.

"Silly?" he said in a shocked tone. Kate was blushing at being overheard and Lisa gave him an angelic smile.

"Oh? Did I say that aloud?" Lisa said in an innocent tone. "I'm so sorry, Agent DiNozzo," she apologized in a sugary sweet tone.

Tony gave her an evil look but said nothing. Tony led them to the elevator and hit the button. His face was a carefully crafted expression of neutrality. No emotion was evident. Inwardly, he was deeply surprised by Lisa's appearance. Given her cool demeanor, she had clearly been in Naples for a while and probably knew more about his team than he did. Why she had decided to show up at the NCIS offices was a puzzle. He doubted it was a social call, given his earlier conversation with Director Vance. As the elevator door opened, Kate entered first, followed by Tony and Lisa. Tony said nothing nor gave indication that anything happened when Lisa's hand brushed ever so lightly against his.

As they entered the squad room, Tony frowned slightly at the sight of Vince and Jamie still at their desks instead of being out on their assigned tasks. "All right, everyone. Gather round."

"Sorry, Tony," Vince said. "We were just getting ready to leave."

"It can wait now. We have a new development," Tony said. He turned to Lisa, who was looking at the picture of Sergeant Goldman on the plasma. It was a look he knew all too well. She knew the victim. Whether or not she would admit was another matter. Tony sat down on the corner of his desk as Kate sat down behind her desk. This left Lisa standing in the middle of the agents. "This is Mossad Field Officer Lisa Meier. She and I worked together some time ago when I was stationed in DC. She's one of Mossad's Hallmark operatives."

"Hallmark?" Lisa interrupted, puzzled by the reference.

"As in Hallmark greeting cards," Kate replied. Lisa shook her head, still not understanding. "It's their slogan: When you care enough to send the very best."

Lisa smiled, giving Tony a look. "I see, now."

"As I was saying, Officer Meier is one of their top operatives and I'm sure she has an excellent reason for breaking cover and gracing us with her presence."

Lisa glanced at the monitor for a moment before stopping to look at the other two members of Tony's team and do a quick evaluation. Vince Perry had neither the computer skills nor clearance to interfere with NCIS's investigation. Her profile of him indicated that he was a mediocre investigator with no real ambitions. No unusual debts or vices. He was just there for the paycheck. Jamie Hatcher, however, had the skills but not the access to the necessary systems. In some ways, he was a younger version of Tony, going through women with ease, never staying in a relationship for more than a week or two. Something about him, however, made her doubt he would mature as Tony had.

Kate Orselli, however, intrigued her. The profile on her indicated that she was the type of agent Gibbs would have approved of. Tough, tenacious and cool under pressure, Kate reminded her of another NCIS agent: Caitlin Todd. Though Lisa had never met Caitlin, Kate and Caitlin's personality profiles were near mirror images. How ironic that Tony's senior agent shared the same name as his late partner.

Lisa nodded at Tony before speaking. "Thank you, Agent DiNozzo. As you know, for the last few months there has been a series of weapons thefts from the Marine depot here. These weapons have been appearing in the hands of our enemies. I am here because Mossad, and Israel, are deeply concerned with this activity. I have been sent here to end this threat to Israel. I am hoping that, together, NCIS and Mossad can stop the flow of weapons and apprehend those responsible."

Tony folded his arms and stared at Lisa for a moment. There was clearly more going on than Lisa indicated. "In other words, campers, this is a courtesy call. If we don't stop this soon, she has orders to use lethal force, amongst other things, to stop it. Considering that her methods would most likely result in numerous fatalities, she's giving us the opportunity to work together and solve this case before too many more people die."

"How very generous of you, Officer Meier," Jamie said, sarcastically. He shut up immediately at Tony's warning look. The look on Lisa's face was scarier, though. Her face was perfectly calm but something in her eyes and body language was unsettling.

"Is there someplace we can talk in private, Agent DiNozzo?" Lisa asked. "There are some things I need to discuss with you."

"Yeah, we can use one of the conference rooms. Kate, does that restaurant deliver?" Tony asked. When she nodded, he continued. "Why don't you order us some food and meet us in conference room two? Vince, Jamie, get a move on. I want updates by end of day."

"Right, Tony," acknowledged Vince.

"Working on it, sir," replied Jamie, turning his attention back to his computer. "I'm going to have to talk to Legal to get access to some of the records."

"Get on it, Jamie," Tony ordered.

Kate handed Lisa a take-out menu, written in Italian, for Cafe Napoli.

"Chicken parmigiana, for Tony," Lisa said, waving off the menu.

"Hey! They serve kosher food. Caponata, for Officer Meier," Tony told Kate, who raised an eyebrow at his order request. "Lisa's pretty strict on keeping Kosher."

"I love Italian," Lisa said mischievously. "Order whatever you'd like, Agent Orselli. Lunch is on Mossad."

"Come on, Lisa," Tony said, grabbing a pen and notepad, then taking Lisa gently by the elbow. He stopped a second later. "Uh? Kate? Which way to Conference two?" Lisa rolled her eyes.

A moment later, Tony closed the door to conference room two. Lisa stood a few feet away from him, looking at him as if captivated. The two stood there for several long moments, not saying anything. Finally, Lisa turned her attention to something only she could hear. A second later, Tony heard the sound of a woman, in pumps, walking toward the conference room. He walked over to the sidebar and poured drinks from a carafe filled with water. When he turned around, Lisa was sitting at the conference table. She smiled graciously as he handed her a cup of water.

"Come in," Tony said, when someone knocked on the door. Kate stepped in and sat down, accepting a cup from Tony. "Ok, let's get started."


	6. Chapter 6

Ah, Italia pt 6

More intrigue abounds

A/N: R&R's are greatly appreciated. They let me know if I'm doing a good job. Or not. :)

* * *

NCIS conference room 2

Naples, Italy

"Ok, let me start with a summary of what I've learned from Kip's notes and the reports I've gotten this week," said Tony from his place at the head of the conference table. Lisa was seated on his left, Kate on his right. "Feel free to speak up any time, ladies. First off, approximately eight months to a year ago, a group of individuals decided to make themselves rich at the expense of US taxpayers and Israeli citizens. Somehow, they've managed to exploit weaknesses in the inventory and shipping systems at the Marine depot and use them to alter the manifests so that fewer weapons were being shipped. The 'excess' weapons are then being shipped out somehow through the port, where they are being sent to various regions in the Middle East. How am I doing so far?"

"That's a pretty fair summary, Tony." Kate nodded, impressed. And, she was. His summary touched all the points that she and Kip had pieced together over the last few months. DiNozzo had put it all together in just a few days.

"I agree," said Lisa. She felt a certain pride that he had figured out such a complex scheme in only a few days.

Tony sighed and fiddled with the notepad before continuing. "Then, we're all agreed that this is an inside job. Several of the Marines in the depot are working together to sell US weapons on the black market."

"I do not like the thought of soldiers betraying the country they are sworn to protect but the evidence certainly indicates that." Lisa said in agreement while Kate squirmed in her chair. Kate clearly agreed with Tony's statement but she was clearly dismayed at the possibility.

"Options? Ideas? Leads?" asked Tony. "Lisa, do you have any information you'd like to share?"

"Nothing worthwhile at this point," Lisa conceded. "We have an asset in place but he has not found anything concrete yet. The people behind this smuggling ring are very careful."

"Kate, you said you had something this morning?" Tony inquired.

Kate fidgeted for a moment before saying anything. She wasn't quite ready yet to trust Lisa as implicitly as Tony apparently did. "As I mentioned this morning, Tony, I may have our first real lead in the case."

"But she doesn't trust me enough to share the information," Lisa said.

"Don't," said Tony, immediately confusing both women. "That is, don't not trust her, Kate." Tony stopped for a second to organize his thoughts. Both women looked at him amusedly. Lisa shook her head as she tried to figure out what he'd just said. "What I mean," Tony said, reaching over and placing his hand on top of Lisa's, "is that I trust Lisa with my life – no questions asked. She's saved my life a few times. If you can't trust her, then trust me."

Lisa felt her face flush at Tony's compliment. Though part of it may have been due to his hand on hers. "_Toda_", she said to Tony before pulling her hand away.

Kate thought for a moment. She had begun to develop a healthy respect for Tony. He took his job as team leader very seriously. He put in long hours and was working diligently at getting herself and the others to accept him. He certainly wasn't displaying any of the playboy attitude he was renowned for. Had he really decided to step up and become a leader instead of a follower? Kate looked Lisa in the eye before saying anything. "I found a link between one of the Marines at the depot and a similar smuggling case from several years ago."

Both Tony and Lisa sat back in their chairs and took a sip of water at the same time. "Go ahead," Tony said.

"I've been doing deep background checks on all personnel stationed at the depot. Not just on them but friends and family, as well. I don't have all the background information yet but six years ago a Marine Gunnery Sergeant named William Daniels was dishonorably discharged for involvement in a similar smuggling ring operation here in Naples. There wasn't enough evidence to convict him but they were to prove he was peripherally involved."

"And, his connection to the current operation?" Lisa asked.

"Gunny Daniels still lives here in Naples. I'm still trying to run him down but, according to Marine Corps records, he has friends from the old days stationed here. I'm going to be tracking them down as well."

"So, Gunny Daniels is the key here," mused Tony. "If he really was involved in the earlier smuggling ring, he may have been biding his time perfecting his scheme."

"Mossad is not without resources here in Italy, Agent DiNozzo," Lisa stated, somewhat formally. "If you can provide me with a list of names, I can have my team research them, too." Lisa frowned slightly at Kate's worried expression. "I assure you, Agent Orselli, that we will not take any action unless directly threatened."

"Thanks for the offer, Officer Meier," Tony said firmly. "But, this is an NCIS operation. I'm not going to release any more intel without clearance from Director Vance."

"I see," Lisa said in an equally firm tone. "I do not think you fully appreciate the seriousness of this. More of my people are dying every day because of these people. I will not stand idly by while NCIS runs background checks until the crows come home."

"It's 'Cows come home', Lisa," Tony reminded her. "And, I do understand. I might be able to make an exception, if I can clear it with Director Vance."

"What kind of exception?" Lisa said, leaning closer to him.

"I think I might be able to get the Director to allow a, um, 'Liaison Officer' to assist with the investigation," Tony said. "If he signs off, then I can arrange for one member of your team to have access to all the same data and intel that we have. How does that sound?"

"It is acceptable," Lisa replied. "I will talk with my Director as well to see if an accommodation can be made." Lisa checked the wall clock and noted the time. "It's nearly noon, now, so it's almost 5AM in DC. Can I expect to hear back from you before the end of the day?"

"Yes. I will call the Director as soon as he's in the office," Tony said, smiling. He stopped as someone knocked on the door. Kate opened it and accepted three bags of food.

All conversation stopped as the three agents sat down to a hearty meal. Kate watched as Tony and Lisa caught up on events in DC. She noticed how at ease with each other they were. Kate began to wonder just how well they knew each other.

Tony leaned back in his chair. "That was a great meal. I'm going to be eating there a lot, I see."

Lisa laughed. "Be sure to run an extra kilometer or two every day, then. Otherwise, you'll get as big as this building."

Kate joined in the laughter. These two were definitely better acquainted than Tony had let on.

"Now, why don't you tell us what Mossad's connection to Sergeant Goldman is?" Tony asked Lisa.

* * *

Squad Room

"I don't like this, Tony," Kate argued. She looked over to where Lisa stood off in the distance, talking on the phone. "Things are hinky enough without Mossad getting involved."

"I know," Tony agreed. "We could use her, though. She's got good instincts and is an excellent investigator. Mind you, her team put together much the same information that we have in less time."

"I don't like it," Kate repeated. "Mossad can't be fully trusted. There's always a hidden agenda with them. Do you really think she would have told us about Goldman's involvement if you hadn't pressed the issue?"

"Probably not. But, now that we know his death is directly connected to the smuggling ring, we can take things a bit farther." Tony looked over at Vince and Jamie's empty desks. Jamie should have been back from Legal by now. "Call Vince and Jamie and update them."

Nearby, Lisa waved off Tony as he started to walk towards her. "_No, sir. They aren't going to provide any more intel without clearing it with Washington._"

"_What do they know about our operations?_" asked Director David.

"_They know we lost an asset. Sergeant Goldman's body was found this morning floating near Via __Nazario Sauro. Tony noticed I was overly curious about some of the crime scene photos they had up on a monitor and correctly intuited that there was a connection._"

"_What did you tell him?_"

"_Just that the sergeant was doing some investigative work for us. Nothing more._"

"_What was their response?_"

"_They are going expand their investigation, develop a timeline for his activities over the last 24 hours. Standard procedure for all murder investigations. There is one other development._"

"_Yes?_"

"_Tony is going to suggest to Director Vance that a 'Liaison Officer' position be created for the duration of this operation._"

"_I see,_" Lisa could hear the humor in his voice. "_Even if this were approved by Director Vance and myself, do you really think the other NCIS agents would trust you?_"

"_They will follow Tony's lead. That is how they are trained,_" Lisa said.

"_Does __he__ trust you?_"

"_Yes. __Never__ doubt that,_" Lisa said in a fierce tone.

"_I see. Very well, if Director Vance approves then you may serve as a 'Liaison Officer' to NCIS. But, only until this smuggling ring is smashed. I have too many assignments for you to waste your skills chasing down petty criminals._"

"_Yes, Director,_" Lisa said coolly. She hung up her phone and started walking back towards the squad area.

"I should return to my team and update them," Lisa said to Tony, while Kate watched. Something told Lisa that Kate could become a problem later on.

"Ok, let me escort you out, then," Tony offered.

As Tony and Lisa rode the elevator down to the ground floor, he took a step a closer to her. She shook her head. Tony started to speak but Lisa interrupted. "I can't. Not yet."

"Ziva," Tony said, his heart ached to be so close to her.

"I know, my love. I wish...," Lisa/Ziva said. It took all of her control and discipline to keep her distance. "Just please be patient."

"As you wish," was all he could think to say.

* * *

Squad room

Kate watched as Tony and Lisa stepped on to the elevator. Once they were out of sight, she picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hi, Jason. It's me. I know you're not going to get this message for a few hours yet but I need a favor. See what you can find on a Mossad Field Officer Lisa Meier. Get back to me as soon as you can. This is pretty important. Thanks. Say 'hi' to Mom."


	7. Chapter 7

Ah, Italia 7

the plot thickens. Gibbs! McGee!

* * *

* translated from the Hebrew *

Mossad Safehouse

Naples, Italy

Lisa walked briskly into the Solomon Bros offices. She nodded politely to the receptionist and made her way through the maze of cubicles to the offices in the back. The company was, in fact, a legitimate business with offices in several countries, specializing in importing and exporting antiquities throughout the world. In reality, it was a Mossad front established in the 1970s, ironically enough, by now Director Eli David. The company paid due diligence in making sure all the necessary paperwork and permits were approved by local authorities. Employees were paid, taxes were filed and paid. Only the most senior staff at each office knew its true function. It was a perfect cover for Mossad operatives to move about in relative freedom throughout the world.

Lisa swiped her passcard to a secure room which led to several others, the true heart of this office. Stepping inside, Lisa hung up her jacket in a closet next to the door. She smiled pleasantly as Gabby walked by. "Gabriella! Get everyone together in the conference room."

"Yes, Officer Meier," she replied.

While she made herself a cup of tea, the other members of her team assembled in the conference room. "Good afternoon, everyone," she greeted them. She sat down at the head of the table and took a sip from her tea. "As the Americans say, 'I have good news and I've got bad news.' Unfortunately, the bad news must come first. I'm sorry, Rivka, but Sergeant Goldman was found dead this morning. NCIS has his body and is conducting an investigation."

Rivka's shoulders slumped in anguish. She smiled briefly as Gabriella patted her shoulder and whispered softly in her ear. "And, the good news, Officer Meier?" Rivka asked a moment later. Her Mossad training began to kick in. There would be time for mourning later.

"The good news is that Agent DiNozzo is attempting to convince NCIS Director Vance to create a Liaison Officer post so I can work directly with them to solve this case. I have already spoken with the Director and he is amenable to the arrangement. If NCIS agrees then I will work directly with Agent DiNozzo at the NCIS offices. Rivka, you will take over as team lead but will still be subordinate to me."

Rivka nodded in agreement. "Do you know when you will be hearing back from Agent DiNozzo?"

"Not for a couple of hours yet. It's only 0600 in Washington right now. Agent DiNozzo said he would contact Director Vance as soon as he comes in. If all goes well, I will start working out of their offices tomorrow morning."

"Is that wise?" asked Aharon.

Lisa nodded. "Yes. Because I will have more direct access to their files and systems. Also, they have made a breakthrough in the case." Lisa smiled as they all gathered closer. "They have made a link with this case to a previous one from six years ago. Once I am in, I will forward a list of names for you to investigate."

"Yes, Officer Meier," Rivka said. The chance to lead this team soothed the pain of Jacob's death. He had been a good man, dedicated to his country and the Marines. It had been difficult to get him to help but he had been diligent in trying to stop the smugglers. She wondered what he had done to alert the smugglers to his activities.

"Also, Rivka," Lisa continued, "I will need a copy of your contact reports for the last few days. It may help NCIS in solving his murder and cracking this case. I want them on my desk within the hour. Please provide English language copies, as well."

"One last thing. If you find yourself in an actionable situation, withdraw and report to me immediately. Do not engage unless you have no other alternative."

"Our orders..." protested Uri.

"Our orders are to stop this smuggling ring," Lisa said firmly. "Not turn Naples into a freefire zone. Tel Aviv will have all our heads if we cause an international incident. Is that understood?" She waited patiently as they nodded in silent agreement. "Back to work, everyone."

* end translation *

* * *

NCIS Squad room

Washington Naval Yard

0800 Local

"McGee! With me!" barked Gibbs. The older agent quickly left the younger agent behind as he headed up to MTAC.

"Right behind you, boss!" McGee said, scrambling to follow. A moment later, he stood behind Gibbs and Director Vance. "What's going on, boss?"

"Dunno. DiNozzo called this meeting," Gibbs replied. He smiled as Tony DiNozzo appeared on the video screen. "Morning, DiNozzo."

"Morning, boss. Morning, Director Vance. Hey, McProbie," Tony greeted them.

"Good morning, Agent DiNozzo," Director Vance replied. "How are things there in Naples? Any new developments since our last call seven hours ago?"

"Yeah, you could say that, Director. Things have taken an interesting turn today," Tony said candidly. "I've got interesting news, good news, not-so-good-news, bad news and worse news." Tony grinned at their expressions. "The good news is that we have a lead in the arms smuggling case. Agent Orselli found a link between a Marine Staff Sergeant Larry Hutchens, currently stationed at the depot, and a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, William Daniels, who was dishonorably discharged several years ago for his role in another smuggling ring. I've got Agent Perry checking in to the Sergeant Hutchens and Agent Orselli is tracking down Gunny Daniels. The bad news is that the dead Marine we got the call out on this morning turned out to be working for Mossad," Tony admitted, then waited for the Director's response.

"Mossad? What was he doing working for them?" demanded Director Vance. "Wait. How did you find out he was working for Mossad?"

"That's the interesting news," Tony said.

Gibbs frowned slightly. Tony seemed a little off. He was holding something back,. "Today, DiNozzo," he barked.

"I ran into an old friend today. Well, actually, she showed up here rather unexpectedly," Tony said, a little apprehensively.

"She?" asked Gibbs.

"Yeah. Mossad Field Officer Lisa Meier."

Gibbs nodded after a moments reflection. There was only one Mossad operative he knew of by that name. His earlier concern about Tony was right. "How is she?"

"Looking good as always," Tony said. "She's running an investigative team here in Naples that's tasked with eliminating the gun running ring. Somehow, she's managed to convince Director David to work with us, to a degree. We had a meeting a few hours ago to compare notes. Her unit's in pretty much the same spot we're in. The not-so-good news is that she's under some kind of deadline before Director David orders more, um, direct action. I think we all know what that means."

"What's the worse news?" asked Director Vance.

"The worse news is I don't have enough manpower to run down all the potential leads I've got now. I've got two other teams helping with the interviews here but I need someone to dig up the JAG files on Gunny Daniels' court-martial, contact the other conspirators and interview them. From what I've been able to learn so far, most, if not all, are still doing time in Leavenworth. I need support from that side of the Atlantic if I'm going to crack this thing."

"Fine," said Director Vance, "I'll assign that task to Sorenson's team in Dallas. They're the closest unit. I'll have them contact you directly once they're finished."

"Thanks, Director," Tony replied gratefully. Now, for the hard part.

"Is there anything else?" the Director asked.

"One thing and it's kinda big," Tony said.

"Yes?"

"Lisa's really pushing for Mossad to be included in the investigation. You know how she can get sometimes," Tony said, somewhat dramatically.

"Go on," said Gibbs. He was beginning to see where Tony was leading. He shook his head at Director Vance, who looked at him quizzically. Explanations would come soon enough.

"I was thinking that, in the spirit of the inter-agency cooperation we've experienced before, that you could approve Officer Meier's assignment to my team as a liaison officer for the duration of this case," Tony put forth carefully.

"I have no problem with that," said Gibbs, glancing over at Director Vance.

"Thank you for your recommendation but I make the decisions around here, Gibbs. Not you," the Director snapped.

"Trust me, Leon. Officer Meier has plenty of experience as a liaison officer," he said meaningfully.

The Director stiffened as he caught Gibbs's meaning. He thought about the implications to the case and NCIS/Mossad relations. "I see," he finally said. "All right, DiNozzo. I'll approve her 'temporary' assignment as a NCIS Liaison Officer until the arms smuggling case is solved, pending Director David's approval. If he signs off, I'll contact the Naples HR and security departments and get her credentials and access set up."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Tony said, with the first real grin any of them had seen in months.

"All right, then, DiNozzo, keep me informed if there are any more breaks in the case," ordered Director Vance.

"Yes, sir. Talk to you later, Boss," Tony said, before signaling an end to the conference.

Vance turned back to Gibbs. "Lisa Meier? How did you know?"

"McGee!"

"Um, yes, Director. Well, Lisa Meier is a fictional character in my Deep Six novels. Lisa is based on Ziva..." McGee explained.

"Yes, I know, and Agent DiNozzo is 'Tommy.' My wife's a big fan," the Director admitted ruefully. "Options, Gibbs?"

"Let it play out. Tony and Ziva are a good team. Between NCIS and Mossad, they have more resources available to them than they'll know what to do with," Gibbs replied.

"And this 'Lisa' business?" asked Vance.

"It stands. If Mossad wants her to be 'Lisa Meier' then she stays 'Lisa Meier'," Gibbs said. "Calling Ziva by her real name could have serious ramifications if the wrong person overhears."

Director Vance nodded in agreement. "All right. For the time being, Ziva David doesn't exist. There's only Lisa Meier." He nodded to Gibbs and then left the room.

McGee turned to Gibbs. "Boss, what do we do? It sounds like Tony's getting in way over his head."

"You don't think Tony's up for this?" Gibbs asked.

Tim swallowed and found himself in the uncomfortable position of passing judgment on a friend. "Boss, Tony is a good investigator but he's too immature to be a good leader. He's reckless, overconfident and..."

"He's always pulling pranks on you. I know," Gibbs said, feeling just a little disappointed. "Tell me, why does he do it?"

"I don't know," Tim admitted.

"I do," Gibbs said. "And, it's not for the reasons you think."

Tim said nothing. A part of him felt a little ashamed of himself. He stood there for a moment as Gibbs started to leave MTAC. "Boss, if you're that confident in Tony, then why did it take nearly ten years for him to get his own team?"

"Because he turned down the posting Jenny offered him three years ago." With that, Gibbs left McGee alone with his thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

Ah, Italia pt 8

A/N: This is a little shorter than I'd planned but Chapter 9 will make up for it.

* * *

"Shalom," Lisa said, answering her cellphone. She carefully hid a smile as she recognized the phone number. She got up and closed the door to her office.

"_Good afternoon, sweet cheeks_," said Tony, in Italian. "_How are you this afternoon?_"

"_I'm fine_. Have you spoken with Director Vance yet?" Lisa asked, a bit apprehensively. She knew the reasons for her nervousness. This assignment was one of the more delicate jobs she'd been given in years. She wasn't a solo operative tasked with eliminating a Hamas cell or an Al-Qaeda terrorist whose location was known ahead of time. This time, she was in charge of a team who looked to her for leadership and guidance. Also, the enemy was unknown. Up until Tony's revelation earlier, neither she nor her team had made any significant headway in uncovering who the smugglers were. Now, they would soon have the information they needed to finally end this threat to Israel.

Another pressing concern was the need to not start any firefights within Naples. Israel and Italy's relationship was shaky at the moment and running gun battles in the streets of one of its more prosperous cities were to be avoided at all costs. With the possibility that renegade US Marines and greedy expatriates were involved, she also had to walk carefully to prevent any further damage to US/Israel relations. Lisa wondered idly if Director David knew what kind of political minefield this assignment would be when he assigned her to it. Cooperation with NCIS would be critical to the success of this operation.

Lisa had been surprised when Director David [she refused to think of him as her father anymore] had so magnanimously agreed to let her be a Liaison Officer again. She couldn't help but wonder at his motives. It wasn't like him to be so generous. He was a man who demanded total loyalty to him, Mossad and then Israel. There were no other acceptable options. Could he be setting her up for failure? The matter merited more thought, she decided.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I have," Tony said happily. "Get in touch with your Director, Officer Meier, the Toothpick has signed off on your becoming NCIS's newest Liaison Officer, effective tomorrow morning, pending your Directors approval."

"Which he has already given me," Lisa said relieved. "You should be more respectful towards Director Vance, Tony," Lisa chided him. "You could wind up the Naples SAIC indefinitely." Not that it would be a bad thing. Naples was so much closer to Tel Aviv than Washington.

"You wanna know what I call your Director?"

"Tony," Lisa said in a slightly more ominous tone. "Be nice."

"Why? The man ruined all our plans with a single phone call. I can talk about him however I want," Tony shot back. "Just a sec."

Lisa listened for a moment as Tony spoke with someone. "Yeah, I need that desk at the end set up asap," she overheard him say. "I've got a new agent starting tomorrow morning so I need that computer and phone ready for use by then. I'm working on her security paperwork. You'll have it in an hour or so ... I know you're busy but this has priority ... Fine, then you explain to Director Vance why our new Mossad Liaison Officer has to wait a week while you plug in a couple of cables ... Thank you for your cooperation."

"Hey, are you there?" Tony said finally.

"Yes, I'm here," Lisa replied.

"Do you want to have dinner tonight?" Tony asked.

"Tony, please. You need to be more discrete. What if someone hears you?" Lisa warned him.

"For starters, I'm the only one in the squad area now. Everyone else is off-site and won't be back for another hour. And, you've already established that we have a prior 'personal' relationship," he reminded her.

Lisa sighed. He was right and wrong. "Tony, we cannot do this. Not yet. I do not know why the Director did not recall me when he learned you were assigned here but I, we, cannot take the chance that he is watching and waiting for us to... to..."

"Sounds like someone's being a little paranoid," Tony cautioned.

"Even paranoids have enemies, Tony," Lisa said. "Do not take this lightly. I assure you he is watching our every move. You should check your hotel room for bugs."

"Oh, you know I'm staying at a hotel?" Tony teased.

"Hotel Sant'Angelo, room 418," Lisa said, impishly. "The security there is somewhat... lacking. Nice décor for a hotel. That bed looks very comfortable."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice. Good thing NCIS is paying for it," Tony said. He sat up in his chair. "Wait a minute. You've been in my room." He waited for her to reply but she didn't.

"I will see you in the morning, Agent DiNozzo," Lisa said. "I have some arrangements to make. _Laila tov._"

"_Buono notte_," Tony replied.


	9. Chapter 9

Ah, Italia 9

A/N: The next few chapters are going to be a little shorter than the previous chapters due to the way I'm structuring the story. If anyone's interested, I've plotted this out to chapter 16 so far. I figure it will run up to 20 chapters, with an alternate ending.

* * *

Naples, Italy

1540 local

Kate walked into the front lobby of the 'Computer Shack' offices. It had taken her several hours of weeding through outdated records and Italian bureaucracy to locate ex-Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant William Daniels. The net result of her search was finding Daniels current place of employment, a tech firm specializing in setting up computer networks for small businesses. From the look of things, business was good. All the furniture was of a contemporary design and new-looking. She walked up to the receptionist, an older woman in her 50's, who smiled at Kate as she approached the front desk. "_Hello, my name is Kate Orselli, with the U.S. Navy Criminal Investigation Service. I'm here to see an employee named William Daniels._"

The woman, Regina, nodded and dialed a phone number. She spoke with someone for a moment. "_Mr. Daniels will be with you in a moment_," Regina said pleasantly.

Kate thanked her and walked off to one side of the lobby. The Computer Shack offices took up most of the ground floor. As she waited, she observed a steady stream of employees coming and going. For the most part, they were young professionals going about their daily business.

She glanced at her watch, wishing she had brought Jamie with her. He got along better with these tech types. She had problems setting up the Tivo in her apartment. Unfortunately, he was busy interviewing Sergeant Hutchens at the moment.

Kate smiled prettily as she was approached by a slender man in his early 40's. "William Daniels? My name is Kate Orselli, NCIS." She noted his sudden wary expression when she identified herself. "I was hoping for a moment of your time."

"Of course," he said, in a surprisingly deep voice for his build. He was barely 5'10" and 170 lbs. He kept his hair cut short. Its brown color starting to turn to gray at the temples. His expression was both wary and hostile. He clearly did not want NCIS back in his life. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a few questions regarding Marine Corps Sergeant Larry Hutchens," Kate began.

"Hutch? What's he done? Is he ok?"

"He's fine. What's your relationship to him?" Kate asked, scribbling in her notepad.

"He was in my platoon. Good kid. Textbook Marine. We've kept in touch since I was discharged," Daniels replied. "Has he done something wrong?"

Kate shook her head. "No, I just have some questions about his involvement in the arms smuggling ring six years ago."

Daniels rolled his head back and closed his eyes. "Oh, God. Are you people ever going to let that go? I didn't do anything wrong. Hutch sure as hell didn't. He was just a lance corporal at the time."

"A lance corporal with access to restricted areas."

"Look. Stop. I admit that I made some bonehead mistakes back then and I paid the price. Hutch is a good kid who never did anyone ill in his life. Why is NCIS looking into Hutch after all this time? Don't you have better things to do than ruin innocent peoples lives?"

"What was Sergeant Hutchens' involvement?" Kate asked.

"Nothing. He did nothing."

"Yet, he was on gate duty when several suspicious shipments left the depot."

"I don't know about that. It was probably a coincidence. Especially since he was never charged with anything," Daniels said.

Kate raised an eyebrow at the vehemence in his last statement. "What can you tell me about your involvement in the earlier case?"

Daniels scowled at her. "I was just a driver. They told me to be at a certain place and time and deliver some boxes. No questions asked."

"Who were 'They'?" Kate inquired.

"I don't know. Just some scary looking guys with lots of guns," Daniels admitted.

"How many deliveries did you make?"

"I made five runs and got caught on the sixth. Look all of this is in the original case file," Daniels snapped.

"I know. Now, according to your file, you copped a plea and implicated the ringleaders in exchange for a dishonorable discharge," Kate said.

"Yeah. Like I said in my trial, my girlfriend was pregnant. I needed the money. Copping a plea was the only way to stay out of jail," Daniels admitted.

"And, after you were discharged?"

"We got married and I'm working on getting Italian citizenship."

"How long have you worked here?" Kate asked.

"Nearly three years now," Daniels said. "I had some trouble getting work after my discharge but eventually one of my wife's uncles helped me get back on my feet again."

Kate nodded as she took notes. "What's your wife's name, if you don't mind?"

"Francesca," was the terse response. "Is that all? I gotta get back to work."

Kate hid a frown. There was something about the way he said her name. There was very little emotion in his answer. "Ok, thank you for time. If I have any other questions, I'll be back in touch."

"Fine. I'll bring my lawyer," Daniel said before stalking off.

Interesting, she thought.

* * *

Hotel Sant'Angelo

Room 418

2045 local

Tony entered his hotel room and tossed his keys on the entry table. He tossed the takeout bag on the small dining table and took off his jacket, hanging it up in the closet by the door. He took off his tie and turned on the TV. He channel hopped for a while as he ate dinner at the dining table. The mini-bar was well stocked and he sipped at a local beer. For once, however, the TV did nothing for him. Most of the shows were in Italian, which would be good for brushing up his language skills, but he missed his favorite TV/movie watching partner.

Tony walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a change of clothes: his favorite Ohio State t-shirt and sweat pants. He quickly changed and sat down on the bed. After a moment, he looked over at the silver picture frame next to his alarm clock. He reached over and looked at the picture. It was a picture of Ziva he'd taken shortly after they'd started dating. They had gone on a picnic one Sunday and he'd snuck a picture of her as she leaned back against a tree. She wore a simple white blouse, jeans and hiking boots. Her expression was soft, tender. Her eyes, normally so stern looking, were twinkling with amusement. He smiled broadly. That afternoon was one of the few times he'd seen Ziva lower all her barriers and just be herself. No Mossad. No NCIS. Just a woman spending a pleasant afternoon with her boyfriend. And weeks later, she was gone.

The sudden reappearance of Ziva here in Naples had stunned him more than he had let on to anyone, including her. It had taken all his control to keep from grabbing her and kissing her until they were breathless. Candidly, he admitted that Ziva was the woman for him. He admired her spirit and strength. She was beautiful on so many levels. And, the sex was well... 'amazing' didn't begin to describe it. Tony pushed that line of thought to the back of his mind. There was too much going on now for him to let his desire overwhelm him. He'd taken enough cold showers the last few months as it was.

Her appearance also explained why she hadn't returned his phone calls or emails for over a month. She had been on assignment here in Naples. He couldn't fathom why she hadn't tried to communicate with him. His best guess was that her activities were too closely monitored. He was fairly certain that Mossad had all his personal email addresses and phone numbers stored away on some computer somewhere. It would not be difficult for them to block her from sending him emails or calling him from any Mossad-owned computer or mobile device. McGeek could probably do it in his sleep.

He took another swig from the potent beer and then set it aside. He couldn't afford to get drunk. Not now. As good as it was to see her again, to hear her voice, smell her perfume, she was right. He was probably under surveillance. He walked over to the hallway closet and removed a tool kit from from his jacket pocket. Tony walked to the center of the room and looked at all the vents and electrical sockets. He looked at the air vent on the wall opposite the bed and above the chest of drawers. He studied it for a moment before grabbing a chair and placing it in front of the chest. He stood up on the chair and used the screwdriver to remove the face plate. A quick look inside proved Ziva's earlier suspicions. A wireless camera stared back at him. "Good night, Gracie," Tony said before ripping the camera out. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Kate Orselli's apartment

Naples, Italy

2130 local

Kate was tired after a long day. The sudden appearance of Lisa Meier had certainly caught Tony by surprise. It was just like Mossad to start making threats and throwing their weight around. Couple that with the interview she'd had with Daniels and she was worn out. She rebelled momentarily when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw who was calling. "Hello," she said.

"Hey, sis. Hope I caught you at a good time," NCIS Special Agent Jason Orselli said to his older sister.

"Just barely, Jase. I was getting ready to go to bed," Kate replied.

"What? Katherine Marie Orselli going to bed before 10PM? What would mom say?" Jason teased.

Kate laughed. "Watch it, laser brains. I can still kick your butt. How are things there in DC?"

"You know, same stuff, different day."

"Ah, yes. The exciting life of an NCIS probie," Kate teased back. "Were you able to get the info I asked you about?"

"Yeah, about that," Jason admitted a bit glumly. "I checked all the databases I have access to and I can't find anything on one Lisa Meier."

"Nothing?"

"Nope. It's like she doesn't exist."

"That doesn't make sense. DiNozzo acts like they've been friends for years," Kate mused.

"Tony DiNozzo? Your new boss?" Jason asked. "Kate, the only Israeli he's worked with for the last few years is Ziva David."

"What? Who?"

"Yeah. She and DiNozzo were pretty tight before she was recalled to Israel a few months ago."

"That doesn't make sense."

"What are you talking about?" Jason wanted to know.

"Meier and DiNozzo know each other. I mean, really well," Kate insisted.

"Hold on a sec. I have an idea," Jason said. Kate could hear him typing away at his keyboard. "I'm sending a picture to your phone. Tell me if you recognize anyone."

"Ok," Kate said. A moment later, her phone chimed and she opened up the picture. "What is this?"

"It's a pic I took a while back at an office party. Do you recognize anyone?"

"Yeah," Kate replied. "I see Gibbs. There's DiNozzo in the background and... wait, that's her. That's Lisa Meier he's talking to."

Jason sighed. "Kate, that's Ziva David he's talking to."

Kate was stunned. What was going on here? What kind of game was Mossad playing? How deeply was Tony involved? She dismissed the last thought. He'd been genuinely surprised to see Lisa Meier or Ziva David or whatever her name was. She wondered if he was thinking the same thoughts.

"Look, Kate. I don't know what you've stumbled on to here but I suggest you let it go. David's supposed to be one of Mossad's top operators. There's no telling how they'll respond if they think her cover's been blown," Jason warned her.

"But, why?" she said, mystified.

"Your guess is as good as mine. It's probably just as a big of a surprise to her that he's here too."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"Well, DiNozzo's only there because your old boss, Kip, was killed in that accident."

Kate was silent as she considered the possibilities. Jason was right. There had been a certain sparkle in Lisa's, or Ziva's, eyes when she had directed her conversation to Tony during their meeting earlier. The look of a woman in love.

"Look, I've got to go. I've got to head down to autopsy. I'll talk to you later," Jason said before hanging up.

Kate set her phone on the table and wondered what she'd gotten into.


	10. Chapter 10

Ah, Italia pt 10

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this. The file with the plot outline I had painstakingly detailed crashed on me Friday. So, I had to rebuild it from scratch. The good news is I thought up a few new chapters to expand the storyline.

* * *

NCIS Squad room

Naples, Italy

0700 local

Tony walked into the squad room and tossed the heavy plastic bag onto his desk. The contents of the bag banged loudly as they impacted the desk. Tony sat down in his chair and immediately noticed a cup of coffee and a bag from a nearby bakery that the team swore by. He opened the bag, a little timidly, and stopped and closed his eyes as the scent of a freshed baked cream-filled cornetto wafted from the bag. He took the pastry out of the bag and took a bite. Pure heaven. He took a sip from the coffee to wash it down. Ah. Not coffee. Cappuccino. He resolved then that he was never leaving Italy. Not if breakfast was like this every morning. He smiled as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. "_Buon giorno_," he said, saluting Lisa Meier (aka Ziva David) with the cappuccino as she approached him.

"_Buon giorno_," she replied. Tony felt his heart beat a little faster when she sat down on the corner of his desk. She was dressed in a slick business suit and fashionable pumps. Her hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail and her makeup tastefully applied. Tony recognized her outfit immediately. He had bought it for her after losing a bet. It had cost him a pretty penny but seeing her in it made it all worthwhile.

"Does everyone always come in this late?" Lisa asked.

"It's 0700," he replied.

"At Mossad, we start at 0500," Lisa stated a touch arrogantly. The twinkle in her eyes was unmistakable. "My orders, Special Agent DiNozzo," she said as she handed him the folder with her orders.

"Special Agent In Charge," Tony corrected her. He smiled slightly as she nodded her head in apology. Tony skimmed over her orders and filed them in desk drawer. He took another sip at his cappuccino, studying her carefully. He had so many questions for her. So much to say. He idly wondered if he could somehow talk her into marrying him while she was here. It would have to be a civil wedding, he figured. The Orthodox branch of her religion did not allow interfaith marriages. That shouldn't be too hard, should it?

Her priority, though, was to stop the smuggling ring. Once that was done, he knew she would be ordered to another hot spot. He wondered what he could do to get her to be ordered here permanently."Welcome aboard, Officer Meier," he said

"_Toda_," she said. "The Director has agreed to modify my orders. I am to resume my duties as a Liaison Officer to NCIS effectively immediately."

"What kind of restrictions did Director David place on you?" Tony inquired.

"The safe house is off-limits to all members of your team. It is a valuable asset and the Director does not want it compromised. I am allowed to share whatever intel we have, or do, gather during the course of this investigation. If my people find out who is behind this operation, we are to contact you directly and coordinate a strike on them."

"You're not going to take direct action? That sounds a little out-of-character for Mossad," Tony noted.

Lisa shook her head. "It was not easy getting him to agree to these terms." Tony's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The Director was not the kind of person who gave up easily once his mind was set. "Since Marines do appear to be involved, he has agreed to a joint task force, as it were, to deal with this threat. Mossad and NCIS's relations are strained enough without our eliminating Americans."

Lisa stood up as Kate, Vince and Jamie walked into the squad area together. "_Shalom_," she greeted them. Lisa noted that Kate averted her eyes when she walked by. Vince nodded politely before walking over to his desk.

"Hey, Tony, what's going on?" Jamie asked, standing in front of Tony's desk. He looked warily at Lisa. "Mossad find something?"

Tony took a sip from his coffee before standing up. "All right, everyone. Field Officer Meier," he started, gesturing towards her, "will be joining us as a Liaison Officer until we stop this arms smuggling ring. Her primary responsibility will to coordinate our efforts with her own teams."

Lisa reached into her jacket pocket and handed Tony a flash drive. "Here is all the information we have come up with so far. Some of it you doubtless already have."

Tony accepted the flash disk and then handed it to Jamie. "Copy this to our system, Jamie," Tony instructed. "In the spirit of international cooperation, put all our info on a disk. Maybe they'll spot something we've missed."

"Boss," Jamie said. "I don't think this is such a good idea." He hesitated when he saw Kate give him a sharp look. "We've worked with Mossad a couple of times before. Those guys make up the rules as they go and don't bother to follow them."

"Jamie," Kate said in a cautioning tone.

"Come on, Kate," Jamie protested.

"That's enough, you two," Tony said, stopping any further arguments. "Your opinion is noted, Jamie. However, this is a matter of national security for both the U.S. and Israel. Mossad has already shown their willingness to cooperate in this. NCIS is going to do the same. Is that understood?"

Jamie flushed, embarrassed at being taken to task in front of the others by his new boss. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, get started on copying those files," Tony ordered. "Theirs and ours."

"Yes, sir," Jamie said, sullenly. He walked back to his desk and began copying the files from the flash drive. He occasionally looked suspiciously over at Lisa but said nothing.

"All right, let's move on," Tony said. "Officer Meier, tell us what you know about the smuggling ring, please."

"Well, what I can tell you," Lisa said, with an apologetic shrug, "is that six months ago, shipments of U.S.-made weapons and ammunition began appearing in Hamas weapons caches. At first, we thought they were weapons lost in Iraq or Afghanistan but when we ran the serial numbers on some of the weapons, they were traced back here to the Marine Corps depot in Naples. Director David assembled a team with myself as its lead to investigate and stop the flow of weapons. We have, unfortunately, been unable to determine who is responsible. Our efforts to gather intel have been stymied."

"How did Sergeant Goldman fit into this?" asked Jamie.

"He was our 'inside' man, as it were. His job was to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity," Lisa informed them. "He was not to take action of any kind. Just let his controller know of anything he found."

"So what got him killed?" asked Kate.

"That, I do not know," Lisa admitted. "Mossad owes it to him to avenge him." She caught Tony's curious expression at her comment.

"Why did he do it?" asked Jamie. "How did you get him to turn on his country?"

"He wasn't betraying his country, in the strictest sense," Lisa said, shaking her head. "The sergeant has family in Israel. Some of his cousins were killed or badly injured in last years rocket attacks. We were able to use his anger to convince him to help us. I want it understood that he in no way compromised base security while he was working for us."

"So you say," Jamie said.

"Jamie," Tony said in a cautioning tone. "That's enough. The sergeant's just another victim in this case."

Jamie grumbled and continued his work. A moment later, he removed the flash drive from his computer and handed it back to Lisa. "Ok," he said, "Here's all the reports and notes we have so far."

"_Toda_," Lisa said, placing the drive back in her pocket."

Tony shook his head. "I'm impressed Director David agreed to share intel with us. That couldn't have been an easy sell, Lisa."

"It was not," Lisa agreed, giving Tony a stern look. He shrugged but said nothing else. "Dealing with this smuggling ring is of greater importance. Too many of my fellow Israelis are being killed by these weapons. I will do what I must to stop that."

"All right," Tony said. "Vince, I want you to go back to the depot and interview the Sergeant's co-workers. Build a timeline of his activities for the last 72 hours. Check his email, phone logs, the works. Kate, keep working the Hutchens/Daniels angle. Jamie, assist Kate in her investigation. Do deep background checks on both of them, their friends and family. Officer Meier, you and I will go over all the notes and see what else we can find."

Lisa smiled as Tony gave everyone their instructions. He was shaping up into a team leader that Gibbs would be proud of. Her attention turned back to Tony as his cellphone started ringing.

"Ok. Kate, Officer Meier, with me. That was Doc. He's got the autopsy results. Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

Ah, Italia pt 11

A/N: Alerts are nice, but reviews are better! :)

A/N #2: Looking for a beta reader. Please pm if you're interested.

* * *

NCIS

Naples, Italy

Tony waited patiently for the elevator to arrive. NCIS's offices were on the building's third floor but the autopsy and forensic labs were in the basement. A moment later, the elevator doors opened and he stepped aside so Lisa and Kate could enter first. He punched the basement button and settled in for the short ride.

Lisa felt a bit uncomfortable in the elevator. She had taken her customary place next to Tony, leaving Kate in the back of the elevator. Even though the trip was short, she felt her hackles rising. She had the very intense feeling she was being watched by Kate, as if Kate's gaze was boring into the back of her skull. Finally, she reached over and flipped the emergency stop button. "Is there a problem, Agent Orselli?"

Kate shook her head. "No, no problem," she stammered, uncertain of what to say or how to proceed. Should she say something about knowing the truth about the Mossad officer? "I'm not used to Mossad being so cooperative. In my experience, you guys are worse than the CIA when it comes to keeping your little secrets."

"You think I am setting you up to fail?" Lisa asked, brow furrowed.

"I don't know what to think right now. Maybe you are here to help us, maybe you're not," Kate said, standing toe-to-toe with Lisa. "I could spend all afternoon giving Tony reasons not to trust Mossad. But that won't change the fact that he trusts _you_ implicitly." Kate paused for a moment. Now was not the time, she decided. She caught the surprised look Tony gave her. Lisa, however, gazed at her coolly. "So, for now, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Lisa nodded, her face as calm as always. "Thank you. I will do my best to maintain your faith."

Tony sighed and flipped the emergency stop switch. He shook his head as the elevator descended the final few yards to the basement.

Lisa smirked at his expression. "So, how's your first week as SAIC working out for you?"

"Oh, it's just fine," Tony said sarcastically, stepping aside so the ladies could exit first. Also because it gave him a chance to check out Lisa's butt. "I should've done this years ago."

"Stop googling my butt, Tony," Lisa snapped, with more humor than anger.

Kate stopped just outside the elevator and raised an eyebrow at him, silently demanding an explanation.

"She means 'ogling,' Kate," Tony explained, trying to defuse yet another tense moment. "Lisa's always had a problem with idioms."

Kate said nothing but turned and led the way to autopsy. She gave Lisa a sly wink as she walked by.

'Hah!', Tony thought. 'TNT doesn't know drama. I know drama.'

* * *

NCIS Autopsy

"What's up, Doc?" Tony said as he led Kate and Lisa into the autopsy room.

"That never gets old," chuckled Emmett, who picked up a clipboard and walked over to Sergeant Goldman's body. He blinked in surprise at the sight of Lisa. "Hello? Who have we here?"

"Oh, right. Doc, you haven't met our new Liaison Officer," Tony said. "Field Officer Lisa Meier, this is Doctor Emmett Blanchard. Officer Meier will be working with NCIS as a Liaison Officer to Mossad."

"Delighted to meet you, Officer Meier," Doc said merrily. "This young fellow," he continued pointing to a tall, cadaverously thin man standing by the autopsy table Sergeant Goldman's body lay on, "is my assistant Riley Cavanaugh."

"Whoa," said Riley, eying Lisa frankly. "She's too hot to be Mossad. They're all like, you know, muscles and 'grrr' and mayhem and death." He blinked at Lisa's curious stare. "Not that you're not..."

"Riley," Doc interrupted, shaking his head. "Is this a permanent assignment, Officer Meier?"

"Please call me Lisa. And, no, it's not. My assignment only lasts until this arms smuggling ring is stopped."

"What have you got for me, Doc?" asked Tony. On the surface, to his trained eye, the sergeant was a typical looking Marine. In good health and condition. The only marks he could see was the knife wound and some bruising on the right side of the neck.

"Well, as you can see, death was caused by exsanguination. The knife wound itself caused severe damage but was not, ultimately, the cause of death. The bruising on the neck was undoubtedly caused by his attacker grasping him by the neck prior to stabbing," Doc said, handing the clipboard of test results to Tony. "I estimate the time of death to be between 2100 and 2200 last night. There's nothing unusual in any of his blood panels. Blood alcohol level was 0.03 – well within legal limits. It is exactly what it appears to be."

Tony nodded, taking a moment to review. "Lisa? Your thoughts." He ignored Doc's inquisitive look.

Lisa put on some sterile gloves before leaning forward to gently probe the knife wound with a finger tip. "The time of death excludes Mossad involvement. His last meeting with his handler ended at 2018 that night. No one else from my team had any contact with him after that."

"Excuse me? Handler?" asked Doc, look back and forth between Tony and Lisa.

Lisa grimaced before responding. "The sergeant was assisting with Mossad's investigation in to the arms ring."

"Was NCIS aware of this?" asked Doc.

"No," said Tony. "Lisa, I want a full report on Sergeant Goldman's activities."

"It's included with the files I gave you earlier," Lisa replied calmly, continuing her own examination of the body. "This is not the work of professional operative."

"So, what? You're saying some punk offed a Marine?" remarked Kate.

"No. I'm saying that, on the surface, this is a professional assassination," Lisa began, going through the motions of how Sergeant Goldman was murdered. She shook her head

"But not one done by a Mossad-trained operative," finished Tony.

"Exactly," Lisa agreed, with a slight smile. "What kind of clothing was he wearing?"

"He was dressed pretty casually," replied Tony. "St. John's Bay Polo shirt and slacks. He wasn't wearing any shoes, as I recall."

Lisa nodded. "This person has killed before. He is efficient but not much training. It's like he learned from a weed player." Lisa looked up as she felt everyone staring at her. "What?" she said exasperatingly to Tony.

Tony's eyes narrowed. "I think she means bush leaguer."

"Ah. Yes. That's it," Lisa agreed.

"Twice in one day, Lisa. You're slipping." Tony teased. Lisa growled at him, making him grateful she was on the other side of the table. "How would you have done it, Lisa," Tony asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Lisa shrugged. Teasing Tony was so much fun. "There are many ways to killing someone with a knife. My preferred methods are to either cut the throat or, if the target isn't wearing a heavy jacket, a thrust to the kidney." She looked up at Tony, who was staring at her in a matter of fact way. She said nothing else.

"The body goes into shock immediately. Death occurs in moments," Doc shook his head. "The world is a much sadder place when such a pretty young woman has knowledge and experience in such matters."

Lisa exchanged a mournful look with Tony. It was a subject they'd touched on during their time together in DC but ultimately decided to add it to their list of forbidden subjects, the top of which started with their previous relationships, sexual escapades and Tony's football exploits.

Doc noticed the meaningful look the two had shared. "I take it you two know each other," he deduced.

Tony nodded in confirmation. "We worked together in DC a while back. Got to be pretty good friends."

"It's always good to work with someone you get along with," Doc affirmed. There was definitely more to that story.

"Is there anything else, Doc?" asked Tony. When Doc shook his head, Tony continued. "Well, let's head off to Forensics, ladies, and see what Madelyn has for us."

"Ah, nothing, I'm afraid," Doc interrupted. "She spoke with me this morning before she headed off to traffic court." Doc walked over to his desk and picked up another clipboard, which he handed to Tony. "The sea water obliterated any trace evidence in the clothing."

"Traffic court," Tony said, a touch firmly. He skimmed through the report. There was no forensic evidence to help them find the sergeant's killer.

Doc flushed uncomfortably. "Well, I'm afraid Madelyn and Italian traffic laws don't always get along."

Tony nodded. "I'll talk with her later." Tony stopped for a second to check his watch. "Okay. Kate, get back to working the Hutchens/Daniels angle."

"Tony, what about Sergeant Goldman's apartment?" asked Kate. "Marine CID's sealed it off but no one's been there to process it."

Tony closed his eyes and swore under his breath. "Okay," he said, chagrined at making such a rookie mistake. He scowled at Lisa, who smirked at his error. "Lisa, gear up. You're with me. Kate, we'll process his apartment."

"You got it," confirmed Kate. It wasn't often a senior agent made a probie mistake like that. It was even less frequent when he admitted it. Her respect for Tony when up a notch.

"Okay, let's get to it, everyone," Tony ordered, leading the way out.

* * *

_Ring_. _Ring_. "Yes?"

"We have a problem. Mossad's gotten involved in the case now."

"Deal with it."

"How? I don't have access to their systems."

"That's your problem. We're paying you good money to make sure nothing gets traced back to us. Now, do your job."

_click_.

"Hey, Jamie. Let's get to work. We've got a lot of leads and background checks to follow-up on," Kate shouted across the squad area.

"Yeah. Be right there," Jamie said.


	12. Chapter 12

Ah, Italia pt 12

Finally, some serious Tiva and what happened back in DC four months ago.

* * *

Flashback

_Ziva's apartment_

_Washington, DC_

_Four months earlier_

_Ziva checked the peephole to her apartment door. As she suspected, Tony was standing outside. She took a calming breath before opening the door. "Hello, Tony," she said, forcing herself to smile. It pained her to think that this might be the last time she would ever see him again._

_The last few weeks since they had become lovers had been wonderful. Romantic Tony, as she privately dubbed him, was a far cry from 'frat boy Tony'. He was still brash and, occasionally, impudent but he had made it known to her that this was no fling. He was tired of the game they had been playing for over a year. Their first few dates had been chaste events as they tried to work out a balance between their private and work lives. Their fourth date, after working together to trap and capture a Navy petty officer, moonlighting as drug dealer selling to kids on base, hadn't really been a date but more of a wild sex-filled evening that left them both wanting more. Things had slowed down, but not considerably, over the next two weeks. They had quickly settled into a surprisingly normal routine. Work, a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine whose apartment they would spend the night at, followed by dinner and a movie or, more commonly, dinner and lots of sex. By some miracle, neither Gibbs nor McGee had caught on to the fact that Tony and Ziva were having an affair. Tony had nearly blown it the day after their first night together by practically strutting into the office like a rooster with the key to the henhouse. Fortunately, McGee had correctly surmised that Tony had a new girlfriend who had ended his dryspell. Tony, for once, had managed to keep his mouth shut about his new girlfriend, though his contented expression rapidly became unbearable around the office. Then, it all came crashing down when Ziva had received a call from her father ordering her to return to Tel Aviv by week's end._

"_May I come in?" he asked. There was a concerned look in his eyes she'd seldom seen before. _

"_Of course," she said, stepping aside so he could walk in._

"_Nice place. Love the Middle Eastern décor," he said, glancing around the apartment. There were boxes scattered throughout the living room. Her felt like a heel for not helping her pack. If he did, however, then he would have to admit she was really leaving. Leaving NCIS. Leaving him. _

"_Well, I am from Israel. Which is in the Middle East," she replied glibly. Ziva didn't quite know what to make of Tony. He had spent numerous nights here the last month so he was familiar with the furnishings. He seemed distracted but offered no clues as to why he was here. She noticed a bulge in his jacket pocket about the size of a small box. A going away present, no doubt. Something he'd felt was too personal, or private, to have given her at the office going away party earlier in the day._

"_Yeah. Right," Tony replied. He stopped to look at the framed picture of herself, Tali and Ari as children. It was one of her prized possessions. He gently set it back down and turned to look at her. "Stay."_

_Ziva averted her eyes and stepped away from him. "Tony, you know I cannot. My orders..."_

"_Oh, come on, Ziva!" Tony exclaimed. "We start dating three weeks ago and, all of a sudden, you get recalled to Israel?! You don't find the timing just a wee bit coincidental?"_

"_You are accusing my father of trying to sabotage our relationship?" Ziva demanded._

_Tony took a step closer to her, so they were only a few feet apart. "Yes. What other explanation can there be?"_

"_Tony, you are reading too much into this," Ziva said. "He told me he has several missions that I am well suited for. I must obey my orders, Tony."_

"_Ziva?!" Tony implored. "He's playing you. You haven't done any extended field work since you joined NCIS. And NOW he wants you back doing wetwork?"_

_Ziva bristled at what she perceived as an insult. "Are you saying I have lost my edge?"_

"_I'm saying you're not the person you were when you first started working here. You've grown. Evolved past being 'just' a Mossad Field Officer. You see the world differently now," Tony corrected. "You're one of the best partners I've ever had. I don't want to lose you."_

"_Tony, this is not a permanent reassignment," Ziva told him. "Six months, perhaps a year."_

_Tony sucked in his breath noisily. "A year?" It made a certain kind of sense. If you were the suspicious type. And Tony was. Director David was playing the percentages. He undoubtedly figured that if Ziva was gone for an extended period, Tony would start seeing other women and move on. Eventually, the two would go their separate ways and the Director would have his favorite assassin back under his control again. Too bad for Mossad their profile on him was out of date._

"_It is not so long, my love," Ziva whispered. There. She said it. She told him in no uncertain terms how she felt._

_Tony closed the gap between them and took her into his arms. He gazed deeply into her eyes. He could not, would not, let this moment pass. It might not happen again. "Ti amo, Ziva," he whispered before kissing her._

_Ziva rested her head against his chest. "I will be back, Tony. You have my word."_

"_I know," Tony said, gazing down at her and then kissing her lightly on the forehead. "I, um..." He knew what he had to say but now that the moment had arrived, he found himself fumbling for words._

"_What is it, Tony?" Ziva asked, seeing the confusion in him._

"_I love you, Ziva," Tony said._

_Ziva looked at him, expectantly. She moved back a step as Tony let go of her so he could reach into his jacket pocket. Suddenly, she began to understand why he'd been so distracted earlier._

"_Will you marry me?" he asked, opening the jewelry box and revealing a beautiful diamond ring._

"_Tony, it's gorgeous," she said, taking the ring out and marveling at it. The ring's design and the cut of the diamond told her it was old. Possible a family heirloom. An inscription inside the ring simply read 'Forever' ._

"_It's been in my family for four generations. My mother left it to me before she died," Tony said._

"_Tony," Ziva said. She struggled to say something._

"_Say 'Yes'," Tony whispered._

_Ziva looked intently at Tony. She wanted to say 'yes' but hesitated. It took her a moment to realize that he had come by tonight with the intention of proposing. He wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. He had simply stumbled on how to say it. The sincerity she saw in his eyes told her what she needed to know. "Yes."_

_Tony laughed happily. He placed the ring on her left ring finger, smiling sheepishly. His grin grew broader as he realized he had just committed himself to this one woman. "Wow."_

_Ziva felt the same way. She admired the ring and how it looked on her hand. She, too, smiled broadly as the wave of emotion hit her. Then, reality stepped in and brought on a different emotion. "Can we do this? Can we wait a year, if it comes to that?"_

"_Well, I remember reading somewhere that Jewish engagements traditionally last a year," Tony said._

"_You 'read somewhere'?" she said, teasingly as she embraced him again. For the first time in years, Ziva felt content._

"_Well, okay. It was Wikipedia," Tony admitted._

"_Uh-huh," she said. She pulled him closer for a kiss which he returned passionately. "One year, then."_

"_But, tonight belongs to us," Tony said. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her, as she laughed and hugged him tightly, to the bedroom._

_The sex, as always, was utterly fantastic._

_The next morning she was on a plane to Tel Aviv._


	13. Chapter 13

Ah, Italia pt 13

Tony and Ziva alone in an apartment. Whatever will they do?

A/N: Seriously, folks, if anyone's interested in beta'ing my stories, plz pm me.

A/N #2: thanks for the reviews. They are appreciated and make all the hard work that goes into these stories worthwhile. More reviews = faster output!

* * *

Sergeant Goldman's apartment

Naples, Italy

"Thank you," Tony said to the apartment manager, an elderly man, named Primo, in his late 60's, who stood aside after unlocking the apartment door. Tony removed the yellow caution tape and stepped inside. He nodded towards Primo and Ziva pulled out her notepad and pen and began asking Primo questions about Sergeant Goldman. Tony took his camera out of his backpack. He quickly took coverage shots before stepping into the room.

The apartment was neat and tidy. There was no obvious signs of a struggle or foul play. The furniture looked to be relatively new, less than two years old. IKEA, from the look of it. Tony walked slowly around the room, taking pictures at various angles. He moved on to the kitchen. Again, no sign of foul play. The tiny bathroom and bedroom were the same. There was nothing to suggest that anything had happened here in the last 48 hours. The sergeant had been an orderly type person, typical of a career Marine, and his apartment reflected the lifestyle of a 32-year old Jewish male in the Marines, Tony noticed.

Tony walked over to a small desk near the front door. It was a standard computer desk with a 19" flatscreen monitor, keyboard and mouse but no computer. A handful of cables dangled loosely from the back of the computer desk. Tony snapped several more shots and then put the camera aside.

"Someone came by yesterday morning and took the computer," Ziva said from directly behind Tony, who nearly jumped. The shocked look on his face was priceless. "Supposedly for repairs."

"Really? Were you able to get a description of the guy?" Tony asked. If she wanted to keep things business-like, so could he. It was for the best anyway, he decided. Just being around her brought back emotions he'd been suppressing for months now.

"Yes," Ziva replied. She watched idly as Tony put the cables into an evidence bag and label it. "Primo also said the man wore a service technician's uniform but he does not remember the name of the company. I will pass on the description to both our teams when we return." Ziva smiled as Tony stood up next to her. Four months of forced separation left her feeling certain desires she knew she couldn't control. Reaching out, she grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. She tilted her head back slightly, eyes closed, lips parted. She felt his lips touch hers and four months melted away.

Ziva knew immediately that she had to find a way to stay in Naples. Doing so, however, would put her in conflict with her father. It was a fight she dreaded. Her Mossad training had been very strict. There was little room for personal feelings. Even less for questioning or disobeying orders. The nature of the job demanded it.

"Good work, Officer Meier," Tony said, several long moments later, remembering her cover identity. He stepped back from her to maintain a more professional distance. "What else where you able to learn?"

"Hmm... The sergeant was well-liked by his neighbors, many of whom are elderly. He sometimes helped with errands and did odd jobs during his off-hours," Ziva reported. "Very few visitors, although Primo said an attractive Jewish woman would stop by every few days. She never stayed for more than a few hours, however. No overnight stays."

"And this woman was his control officer?" Tony guessed.

"Yes. The description Primo gave matches Sergeant Goldman's handler," Ziva confirmed. Tony frowned for a moment. "There was nothing going on between them, Tony." She didn't want to say more but the look Tony was giving her was unrelenting. "Field Officer Goldman is Sergeant Goldman's cousin. She is the one who recruited him. Her sister and a niece were killed and a nephew was badly injured when Hamas launched their rocket attacks last year."

"Your father let someone with that kind of vendetta go out on a operation like this?" Tony said, amazed.

"There are few within the Metsada division who have not lost a loved one to those animals. Have you forgotten..."

"Tali," Tony said sympathetically. "No, I haven't." Being an only child himself, Tony could not imagine losing both siblings to violence, especially the horrific way Tali had died. "Growing up in Israel isn't the same as in the U.S," he remembered aloud.

"No, it's not," Ziva said somberly. She sighed and looked away. "I do not want us to be arguing after so long apart."

"We're not arguing," Tony replied. "We're having a discussion. That's all."

Ziva nodded. "Yes, we are." She looked around the apartment for a second. Time to get back to business. "What would you like me to do?" She knew it was a loaded question. Sure to draw a sexist response from Tony. For once, she did not mind. It was good to be with her betrothed again.

Tony did not disappoint. "Oh, I can think of a lot of things I'd like you to do. Some of them you can even do with your clothes on," he said, leering at her. "For now, I need you to do your Metsada thing while I dust for prints."

"My 'Metsada-thing'?" Ziva asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. If you're working undercover, where would you hide something you didn't want found?" Tony inquired.

"Tony, he wasn't James Bond. He was a low-level informant," Ziva protested. "What makes you think he has information stashed away in his apartment?"

"Well, I don't know how familiar you are with his family background," Tony stated, "but, according to the sergeant's service jacket, his older brother is an agent in the FBI's Dallas field office and he has two cousins in the Secret Service. In fact, the American branch of the Goldman family is well-represented in most branches of the military, the FBI, Secret Service and the CIA. I'm sure the Goldman family serves with the same dedication in Israel's military and security services."

Ziva smiled at the compliment. When the Director had given her the personnel files for her team, she had been impressed with Rivka Goldman's family background. Rivka did have several cousins, aunts and uncles who had served Israel faithfully for many years. "Yes, they do." She pondered his point for a moment. With that wealth of family knowledge to fall back on, it was possible that Jacob Goldman had protected himself in case of just such a situation. "Very well," she said, regaining her composure. Ziva stepped up closer to Tony, kissed him lightly on the lips and then began examining the room.

"What was that for?" Tony asked. "Not that I mind a spontaneous kiss from a beautiful woman."

"I need a reason to kiss my fiancé?" Ziva responded with a slight smile.

"Well, when you put it that way," Tony said, grinning as he started towards her.

Ziva laughed and stepped away. She knew where this was headed. "Now, now, Tony. Do you really want to explain to Director Vance how and why we contaminated a crime scene with, um, bodily fluids?"

Tony blinked in surprise. "Good point," he relented. "Back to work." He walked back over to where he'd left his backpack and retrieved the fingerprint kit from it. As he pulled it out, he saw the bag with the surveillance equipment he'd found in his hotel room. "Hey, you were right, by the way."

"I am always right. Remember that for when we are married," Ziva said solemnly. She didn't look away from the bookshelf she was examining. It was a fairly standard compressed board design. Easy to build and cheap. There were a number of hardcover novels, mostly historical and a few potboiler detective novels, on the top shelf. Paperback novels and DVD's filled the rest of the shelves.

Tony stopped and gaped at her for a second. He then held up the bag and shook it. "Guess what I found in my hotel room last night." He handed the bag out to Ziva as she walked over to him. He watched her face tighten up in suppressed anger. He wanted to know what she was thinking but decided he was better off not. "Don't kill me. I'm the offended party here. You know what kind of backlash there would be if Vance found out Mossad was bugging my hotel room."

Ziva sifted through the three cameras and two mics in the bag. All were standard-issue Mossad equipment. She shook her head in dismay. Was the Director really trying to destroy her relationship with Tony? "I am sorry. I will handle this."

Of more concern to her than Tony finding these bugs, was the fact that she had ordered similar surveillance on the members of his team. There had nothing useful found so far in the recordings but she was hesitant to bring it up. She momentarily distracted him by giving him another kiss before turning and putting the bag in her own backpack. She went back to examining the furniture, walls, outlets and every other place she could think of where she would hide something.

For the next two hours, they continued this routine. Ziva was meticulously going over every square inch of the apartment while Tony dusted for fingerprints. Occasionally, Tony would hum a tune to pass the time. Ziva smiled as she recognized the tunes as old Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin love songs. Every third or fourth song he hummed, she would sneak over and give him a kiss on the cheek.

As Tony finished dusting the living room area for prints, he looked back at Ziva who was rifling through all the food in the kitchen. "You know, I've been thinking..."

"WARNING, WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! DANGER!" Ziva said loudly. She grinned at Tony's surprised expression. "What? You're always telling me to 'loosen up,'" she said, waggling her fingers as she spoke the last two words.

Tony walked over to her briskly. She looked at him, concerned at his serious look. She stepped back until he had her pinned between the wall and himself. Grabbing her arms and holding them up and against the wall, he pressed himself against her and kissed her passionately for several long moments.

Ziva felt her heart race. "Took you long enough. What kept you?" she said breathlessly.

Tony smiled. It was nice to see her flustered every once in a while. "As I was saying, I've been thinking. If we have a daughter, I think we should name her 'Tali'. What do you think?"

"Tali DiNozzo," Ziva pretended to think about it for a moment. It was a wonderful gesture from him. She doubted, though, that he would ever name their sons Eli or Ari. The thought of having several children with Tony shocked and amazed her. She'd never thought of what it would be like to be a parent. A little girl with her looks and personality would be fantastic. The concept of having one or more Tony Jrs, however, would take some getting used to. Full grown Tony was a handful. Having to raise several sons with their fathers personality was mind boggling. At least, they would do what she told them when she told them. A little careful grooming and she would have perfect children. The fiercest Metsada's and the best NCIS agents. Ziva blinked as her mind wandered off into the distant future. Her present situation required her full attention. "I would like that."

"Good," Tony said. He kissed her again and then released her. He grinned as he walked back into the living room. Behind him, Ziva pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled happily. A moment later, she, too, was back at work.

Two hours later, Tony had finished fingerprinting the entire apartment and Ziva's search had turned up nothing. "Okay, let's pack it in and get back to the office. I want to get these prints to Madelyn before she leaves," Tony said, putting the fingerprint kit and camera in the backpack. Ziva nodded and gathered her things. Tony noticed her brow furrowing. "Is everything all right?"

Ziva looked up at him, slinging her backpack across her left shoulder. "I have something to tell you. I could be wrong but if I'm not then you have a serious security breach on your hands."

Tony stiffened. "What is it?"

"I think you have a traitor on your team."


	14. Chapter 14

Ah, Italia pt 14

A/N: RL's been a real bear the last couple of months. Thanks for your patience. Pt 15 will be out later tonight or tomorrow.

* * *

Ft. Leavenworth Prison

Ft. Leavenworth, KS

NCIS Special Agent In Charge Gretchen Sorenson sat patiently in the interrogation room. The call from Director Vance yesterday had come as a surprise but it's importance had become apparent once she'd read through the current and previous casefiles. The unscheduled trip up from Ft. Worth had disrupted her teams investigation into a drug ring but it couldn't be helped. Breaking up the arms smuggling ring was more important.

Gretchen looked over the NCIS and JAG file notes on the prisoner she was preparing to interview. Calvin Lawson was a particularly nasty type of criminal: smart, charismatic and creative. He'd successfully executed a arms smuggling ring out of the Naples, Italy naval base for several months before bad luck had tripped him up. Now, he was in the sixth year of a life sentence. The door to the interrogation room opened Gretchen looked up as an Army corporal led a manacled prisoner into the room. He didn't look like a criminal mastermind, she thought. He was rather scrawny, barely 160 lbs and bespectacled. His short cropped dirty blond hair was starting to gray around the temples.

"Please, have a seat, Mr. Lawson," Gretchen instructed, refusing to address him by his military rank. "My name is Special Agent Gretchen Sorenson. I'm with NCIS. I have some questions regarding some of the Marine personnel in the arms smuggling ring you were involved with."

Lawson's eyes narrowed, his mood suddenly dark. "I've got nothing to say that's not already in your records."

Gretchen nodded. "What can you tell me about Marine Sergeant Larry Hutchens?"

"Why do you want to know?" Lawson demanded, his expression suddenly wary.

"His name came up in a current investigation in Naples, Italy," Gretchen informed him. "What can you tell me about him? What was his involvement?"

Lawson remained silent, contemplating his options. Gretchen found herself growing curious about his reticence. He had nothing to lose. True, he stood to gain nothing, either.

"What's in it for me?" Lawson countered. "I'm not talking without some serious guaranties first."

"If your information proves useful, I'll talk to JAG and see what kind of extra privileges can be arranged," Gretchen replied, scribbling furiously on her notepad. "But, only if it proves pertinent to the current case."

"Please, Agent Sorenson, spare me the rhetoric," Lawson spat at her. "Your threats don't scare me. I'm already in here for life."

Gretchen nodded. "Tell me what you know."

"Hutchens was a nobody. Some punk kid who followed Daniels around like a puppy dog."

"What was Daniels' interest in him?" Gretchen asked.

Lawson shrugged expressively. "Dunno, really. Hutchens is one of those all brawn, no brain types. How he's lasted this long in the Corps is beyond me. Anyway, Daniels treated him like he was a kid brother and Hutchens idolized him."

"So, then-Lance Corporal Hutchens had nothing to do with the arms smuggling ring?"

"Not really. Daniels timed his runs so he would pass through the checkpoints when Hutchens had the duty," Lawson explained.

Gretchen frowned slightly at that. It hinted at so much more than what had been disclosed during the trial. "In the trial transcripts, Daniels is described as just another flunky. Someone who got caught up in something bigger than he could handle. Is that true?" Gretchen asked.

Lawson fidgeted for a moment in his chair. Something was spooking him, Gretchen realized. Something very big and bad was scaring him. Even in one of the most secure prisons in the States. Thousands of miles from Italy. "You've got nothing to lose, Lawson," Gretchen prodded him. "In fact, you may even get to send Daniels to prison. Don't you want payback on the man who sent you to prison? Doesn't it bother you that he's living the life while you're rotting away in here?"

After another long moment, Lawson relented. "Daniels was the way in. He had access to the computer systems. He wasn't the mastermind. I sure as hell wasn't. I was just the facilitator," Lawson admitted. "It was my job to get the goods off-base and to the port. After that, it was out of my hands."

"So who was Daniels working for?" Gretchen asked.

"Daniels took his orders from some chick he was seeing."

On a hunch, Gretchen pulled a photo out of the folder and placed it in front of Lawson. "Is this the woman?" she asked, tapping the photo.

"Yeah, that's her," Lawson confirmed.

"Please identify the woman," Gretchen instructed.

Lawson smirked briefly before replying. "Her name's Francesca Manelli. She's a real piece of work, that one. Don't ever turn your back on her. She was screwing Daniels to keep him under her thumb. I heard he got her knocked up." Lawson laughed and shook his head. "That's gonna be one twisted kid, if it's true."

"So, his girlfriend, Francesca, was the brains behind the operation," Gretchen asked, mystified. The file on Daniels had few details on the woman.

Lawson laughed heartily and shook his head. "That psycho? No, she was, maybe, middle management, at best. Near as I could tell, she was there to keep Daniels under control. He was a little too fidgety for the job. The Capo"

Surprise showed plainly on Gretchen's face. "The capo? As in the Mafia?"

"Lady, you don't know the half of it," Lawson grinned at her.

* * *

NCIS Naples

Jamie finished his first review of the files provided by Officer Meier. The Israeli's intelligence gathering network in Naples was very good, he noted. The intel gathered by the late Sergeant Goldman was insightful but a bit off the mark. More importantly, there was nothing that would point to the Mafia's inside man at the depot.

Flipping through the printouts of data the Mossad team had assembled, Jamie made some notes in the margins for the others. Some of the entries were erroneous, meant to make them follow false trails. One entry, a routine check on a port authority supervisor caught his attention. Jamie glanced around and saw that no one else was around. He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a second cellphone. Unlike his work cell, this one was a burn phone, meant to be discarded after a single use. He walked away from the squad area and into an isolated corner of the office. Closing the door, he dialed a number and waited. "Yeah, it's me. We have a problem. The Israeli's have unknowingly made a connection to Pietra and our 'friends'. … No. That's not part of the deal. Your guys do the wetwork, I cover your trail. Get your guy to do it."


	15. Chapter 15

Ah, Italia pt 15

Things heat up for Tony and Lisa, er, Ziva! Plus a wrinkle or two. ;)

A/N: I hope I got the Jewish phrases correct. I don't speak Hebrew and went with what I could find on the 'Net. Apologies if I got something wrong.

* * *

Naples, Italy

"Make your case," Tony said finally, turning to look at Ziva. His earlier good spirits had been crushed by Ziva's declaration at Sgt. Goldman's apartment. He had been in a deeply thoughtful mood since. Now, as she drove them back to the NCIS offices, he broke his silence.

Ziva shook her head. "That's the problem. I can't. I don't have any evidence to support my theory. But, I know it to be true."

"Why?"

Shaking her head from side to side, Ziva fought to find a way to explain her concerns. "It doesn't add up, Tony. Kip and Kate are too good at their jobs to let something like this smuggling ring run rampant for so long. There has to be someone within NCIS tampering with the flow of information. There's no other explanation."

"You want me to call the Director and launch an Internal Affairs investigation into my teams activities over the last, what, year or so, based solely on your gut?" Tony demanded, a tad angrily. He immediately regretted his outburst and turned away from her. He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought of some way to apologize.

"I have also been doing digging into their backgrounds. Jamie and Vince's histories have enough blemishes to merit concern." Ziva frowned as she noticed Tony's scowl. "Do not look at me like that. I have been involved in this investigation much longer than you. There is something going on at NCIS."

Tony leaned his head against the window, not wanting to hear any more. He wanted to refute her claims but couldn't. If there was a mole at NCIS, it would explain a great deal. "What a week," he muttered.

"This is not a reflection on you, Tony. Whatever is going on here began long before your assignment," Ziva tried to comfort him. "Your primary goal is to stop this smuggling ring."

"What kind of intel do you have?" Tony asked.

It was Ziva's turn to be uncomfortable. "We have been monitoring their activities, discretely, for several weeks now. Kate appears to be in the clear. She leads a very quiet life. She does not have a steady boyfriend but has had a few lovers. Mostly one-night stands. No unusual bank activity. She seems to be living within her means."

Ziva glanced at Tony, who was growing angrier with each passing moment. "Vince," she said, shuddering, "has the worst personal habits I have ever seen. He's just disgusting."

"Worse than me?" Tony said, his mood lifting somewhat.

Ziva looked at him, wide-eyed. "Oh, you are angelic, by comparison. At least, you are trainable." She shook her head before continuing. "There have been a few unusual entries in his bank account but that could be the result of his winnings at a floating poker game he goes to two or three times a week."

Tony frowned again. Ziva waited before continuing. "Jamie is the one I'm most concerned with. He seems to have a different lover every night. I should point out that Jamie has spent a couple of nights with Kate since we began our surveillance. There's also some irregularities in his banking activity. He is living well beyond his means. So far, we have not been able to trace the source of the extra income."

Tony glared at her. "You've got their homes wired, don't you. Just like my place!"

"I did not order your hotel room to be bugged. I am certain that 'he' ordered it, however." She did not need to explain who 'he' was. They both knew.

Tony swore. "Who else knows about this?"

"Outside of my team, just you," Ziva affirmed. "Tel Aviv is disinclined to believe my theories."

"As much as I want to, I can't," Tony said, his face growing grimmer. "It's not the first time this has happened to NCIS."

Ziva nodded, remembering the late NCIS Special Agent Michelle Lee. They drove on. Tony occasionally asked questions which she replied to as best she could. Then, he went silent, lost in thought.

Tony looked over at Ziva. She was right. If her intel was correct, then there were too many irregularities in his teams' activities to ignore. He would have to call Director Vance and request an investigation. He then made a decision of a more personal nature. "_At ahavat chayay, Ziva,_" he said, simply, running his fingers through her hair. _[You are the love of my life.]_

Ziva found it hard to say anything. Not only was the change of topic completely without warning but she could tell he was speaking from the heart. She smiled slightly. "_Ani o'hevet ot'cha, Tony_," she said, placing her hand on his. _[I love you]_

"We should get married," Tony said, nearly causing Ziva to crash into a Fiat.

Ziva laughed. "I've already said 'yes', Tony. We still have seven and a half months to go. Remember?"

"I mean, let's get married now. Before the mission's over. Before you get reassigned," Tony said, sounding slightly desperate.

"Tony," she said, warily. He sounded as serious as she'd ever heard him. The idea was tempting.

"I'm mean it. Let's do this," Tony said.

"Tony," Ziva faltered, not knowing what to say or feel.

"Ziva," he replied, equally uncertain. All he knew was that he wanted this, wanted her.

Sitting up a little straighter in the drivers seat, Ziva set her jaw. Her decision made. "It will need to be a civil ceremony. Sooner would be better than later. My father has many influential contacts here. If he finds out what we're planning, he could find a way to stop it. Legally."

Tony frowned for a moment. "Doc Blanchard," he said, finally. "He's been assigned to NCIS Naples for almost 10 years now. He's got to know someone who can help out."

They rode quietly in for the remainder of the trip. Both deep in thought about their future. Every once in a while, Ziva would catch Tony staring at her for a second before turning away. After the third time, she asked, "What?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, a little embarrassed.

"Tony," she said firmly.

"It's nothing," he replied.

"Tony!"

When Ziva slowed to a stop before a red light, Tony squirmed in his seat before turning to look at her suggestively. "Ok, ok. I was picturing you naked." When she raised her eyebrow and gave him a cool look, he stammered. "What? It's been four months."

He sat uncomfortably for a moment, feeling like a slab of beef, as Ziva looked him over thoroughly. As the light turned green, Ziva smiled. "Me, too."

Finally, they arrived back at NCIS headquarters. Tony hopped out and grabbed his bag from the trunk. "Dinner tonight? We can talk about... things and get reacquainted."

Ziva smiled, knowing full well what he meant and wanted. She wanted the same. "Unfortunately, I need to speak with the Director about the case and this," she said, holding up the bag Tony had given her earlier. She looked down surprised as he took her left hand in both of his. "Tomorrow, perhaps."

"_Ani o'hev o'tach, Ziva_," Tony said, gazing deeply into her eyes. Ziva said nothing. She didn't trust herself. She reached up and caressed his cheek with a hand. Tony closed the trunk and they went their separate ways. Each counting the minutes till they would see the other again.

* * *

Solomon Bros offices

Naples, Italy

Thirty minutes later

Ziva stalked through the office area and headed back into the Mossad area. Her pleasant demeanor faded as soon as she walked into the back rooms. Before she confronted the Director, she had one other piece of business to conduct first. She strode quickly by everyone and walked into Aharon's office, slamming the door behind her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ziva demanded, dropping the bag of electronics gear on his desk.

Aharon sighed and looked through the bag's contents. "I wondered what he was going to do with this equipment."

"Aharon! What is going on? Who ordered Agent DiNozzo be placed under surveillance?"

"The order came from Tel Aviv, straight from the Director's office," Aharon replied laconically. "I do not understand why you are so concerned. If the Director wants him under surveillance, then he must have his reasons."

"You do not want to get involved in this, Aharon," Ziva warned. "This," she said, pointing to the bag, "has nothing to do with our assignment. You will leave him be."

"So, you do care for him," Aharon observed, smiling smugly as she unknowingly confirmed a theory. "I thought you preferred men of a... darker skin tone."

"Do not presume to know me, Aharon," Ziva snapped. "Whatever we had in the past is just that. The past." For the first time since she had been assigned to this unit, she acknowledged her prior relationship with her fellow Kidon.

"You can do so much better than that shegetz," he whispered tenderly, leaning across the desk towards her. _[A/N: I am using the pejorative version of shegetz here, reflecting Aharon's contempt of Tony.]_

Ziva lashed out and slapped him in the face. "Don't ever call him that!"

Aharon rubbed his jaw. "Ziva, look..."

"Do not ever call me that, Michael," Ziva snarled as she left the room.

* * *

MTAC

NCIS headquarters

Naples, Italy

"You want to me to do what?" demanded NCIS Director Leon Vance.

"Sir, I need you to launch an Internal Affairs investigation into my teams background," Tony repeated. "Personal history, bank accounts, everything."

"And, what are you basing this request on?"

"Sir, Officer Meier," Tony said, "has been working on this case longer than I have. She has more insight and, frankly, I can't afford to disregard her theories like Tel Aviv apparently has. If there's a leak, we need to plug it fast."

Vance sighed and contemplated the request. "If you're wrong about this, DiNozzo, it will seriously damage your credibility with your team."

"I'm aware of that, sir," Tony acknowledged. "Sometimes, being the boss means sticking to decisions you wouldn't ordinarily consider making."

Vance smiled. DiNozzo was definitely the right man for the job. "All right, I'll get the ball rolling over here."

"Thank you, sir," Tony said, relieved. Now, he just had to hope none of his team members found out what he had ordered.

As Tony left MTAC, he quickly made his way down to Autopsy. Seeing Doc Blanchard alone in the room, Tony grinned broadly as he greeted him. "What's up, Doc?"


	16. Chapter 16

Ah, Italia pt 16

* * *

NCIS Squadroom

Naples, Italy

0930

Next day

_This is so not good_, thought Tony. He skimmed through the notes forwarded to him by NCIS Dallas SAIC Gretchen Sorenson. _The Mafia?!_ Dozens of jokes floated through his head. The satirish view most people had of the mob was vastly different from the reality. Tony had spent several months undercover in a Baltimore crime family. He knew full well the brutality with which the mob conducted business. And, that was the American mob. The Italian and Sicilian mafia families had deeper roots in their respective societies. They were, in some ways, far deadlier than the US families.

"This changes a lot of things," Tony said, stating the obvious. He looked around at Ziva and his other team members, who were also reviewing the notes. "We're going to have to throw out a lot of our earlier assumptions and start from scratch."

"How much of a threat is the mob in Naples?" asked Ziva.

"Huge," replied Vince. "They number in the thousands but are broken into much smaller families. Each with their own territory. They're pretty competitive with each other, though."

Jamie sat up and joined in. "Don't forget they have lots of firepower at their disposal."

"And have plenty of local support," Kate added. "The Naples police learned that the hard way a few years ago when they tried to arrest a capo."

"Infiltrating the mob is never easy," Tony said. "It took me months to work my way in the Baltimore mob."

"How did you do it?" asked Ziva.

Tony stopped reading the report. His expression grew distant for a moment. "You really don't want to know."

"Why weapons smuggling?" asked Vince. "It doesn't make sense. The Camorra usually stick to drugs and cigarette smuggling."

Kate nodded. "A lot of this is starting to make sense now. In fact, it gives me a few ideas on where we can look."

"Really?" asked Jamie, who suddenly looked up interestedly. He hardly noticed Ziva and Tony's wary looks. "I didn't know you had mob connections."

Kate chuckled. "Not really. There's a capo in one of the rival families I know. Really nice guy, once you get to know him. He owes me a favor."

"How does a mob capo owe you a favor?" ask Ziva.

Kate shrugged. "A couple of years ago, his daughters boyfriend, a PO2, was framed on a drug possession charge. I proved he was innocent. They got married and moved back to the States when his tour was up."

"So, he owes you a favor for getting her boyfriend off the hook?" Tony stated.

"No, he owes me because I proved he wasn't the one who framed the boyfriend," Kate smirked slightly as the others understood her meaning. "He really didn't like the boyfriend and everyone knew it. Needless to say, his daughter blamed him for the frameup. So, once I cleared the air with them, everything was right with their universe."

"Wow, an NCIS drug story with a happy ending. Who'd a thunk?" quipped Tony. A second later, a paper wad arced through the air and hit Tony squarely in the temple. Tony stood up and turned to look at the culprit. A maliciously grinning Ziva. "Hey!"

"ENGLISH! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!" she yelled back. Everyone in earshot burst out laughing. Tony sat down, grumbling.

Doc Blanchard walked in to the squad room just then, carrying a large manila envelope. "I seem to have missed something," he commented.

"Not really, Doc," Tony grumbled. "Our Metsada seems to think she has a sense of humor. She doesn't." Tony ducked as three more paper wads soared at him, one of which landed in his cappuccino. "Hey! You know it's all fun and games until someone's cappuccino is ruined." He glared at Ziva until she silently mouthed 'oops!' at him.

"Ah, yes," chuckled Doc, "Excuse me, Agent DiNozzo, but I have that information you and Officer Meier were interested in."

"Yes, thanks, Doc," Tony said, glancing back at Ziva, who nodded and quickly walked over to them. Together, the three headed off towards the elevator.

"What do you think that's about?" Jamie asked Kate, who shrugged expressively.

"Who knows?" she said. "Maybe the Doc found something else about Sergeant Goldman. I'm sure the Boss will tell us in due time," Kate smiled to herself as she picked up her phone. That was the first time she'd referred to Tony as 'the Boss.'

* * *

Conference room

Doc Blanchard led Tony and Ziva down to the first floor conference room. Waiting outside was a pretty young woman in her mid-20's, dressed in a conservative dress suit and carrying a briefcase. She smiled broadly as Doc approached her and led them into the room. "Tony. Ziva," Doc said, "this is my step-daughter, Letizia. She works for a company that helps tourists and other foreigners get married here in Italy."

"Poppa," Letizia said, a little embarrassed as she took a seat.

"Oh, really? That's great," Tony said, glancing at Ziva, who nodded approvingly. "Are you aware of our situation?" Tony had risked a lot by telling Doc about his relationship with Ziva, including her true identity.

"Yes, poppa has told me what he can and I do not think there will be a problem," Letizia said with a slight accent. "We do this every day. Well, not THIS exactly."

"Good," said Tony, looking and sounding relieved. For the first time in months, he placed his hand on Ziva's, in public, in a affectionate manner. "What do we need to get started?"

"Well, there are no residency requirements for getting married in Italy. We will require certain documents," she said, opening her briefcase and handing forms to both Tony and Ziva. "I have checklists of the documents we will need."

Doc watched Tony and Ziva closely as Letizia explained the process to them. He thought about what Tony had told him the previous night. They were in a novel situation. Noticing how tightly they held their hands and their earlier interaction, he hoped their marriage would be as wonderful as his to Letizia's mother.

* * *

Naples, Italy

1330 local

Kate Orselli walked around the open air market, looking for one stall in particular. After a few minutes, she spotted her contact and walked towards him. Andreas De Luca looked like a kindly old uncle with a hearty laugh and winning smile. The truth be known, he was one of the senior capos of the Camorra family and head of his own branch of the family. It was risky business coming to him for information about a rival capo. Given the stakes and what she knew, Kate hoped to at least get some insight into Luigi Manelli's plans.

"Katherine," Andreas greeted her fondly. "It's been far too long. You look as lovely as always. How have you been, eh?"

Kate looked around carefully. She counted three bodyguards lurking nearby. All burly, hardbitten men who had no problems with killing a woman, even if she was an American federal agent. Andreas had probably paid off the stall owner to leave for a while so they could talk. "I'm fine, my friend. How are Marcella and Thomas?"

"Ah! Marcella and Thomas recently had a beautiful baby boy, whom they have named 'Andreas,' the capo said proudly. He pulled a photo from his shirt pocket and held it up for Kate to look at. "Isn't he handsome?"

"Oh, yes. He's quite the charmer. You must be very happy."

"Yes, yes. They are flying in next month and we are going to have a big celebration!"

"Wonderful!"

"What can I do for you, Katherine," Andreas asked, suddenly all business.

Kate looked around. She couldn't afford to show fear but the man before her was one of the deadliest in Naples. "I need to know what you can tell me about Luigi Manelli and his gun running operation."

"You don't want much, do you, Katherine?" Andreas laughed.

"I understand how difficult it is for you to talk about these things, Andreas. The situation is getting worse every day. Manelli is stealing and selling US weapons to Hamas. A lot of innocent civilians are dying every day. The Israelis are applying a lot of pressure on the State Department, the Navy and NCIS to stop the flow of weapons."

"Gun running is very bad business. That is why the Camorra stay out of it. Only a person like Manelli would dare trying something like this. He is, how you say, 'malignant.'"

"He's going to be dead if he isn't stopped soon," Kate said, accepting some grapes from Andreas. "You know how the Mossad works. They tend to take very decisive action once a target has been located and identified."

"Kidon," Andreas spat the name like a curse.

"Yes. The Kidon leave few witnesses and do not take prisoners."

"This is a difficult thing you ask, Katherine," Andreas said, mulling over his options and the possibilities.

"Think of it this way. You'll be helping us get rid of a rival. One who is bringing unnecessary attention to the Camorra."

"I am not afraid of you or your NCIS," Andreas said boldly. "Those damned Israeli's are another matter." He leaned against the stall, munching on grapes. "We will meet here again tomorrow. I will give you my answer. Ciao."

"Ciao," replied Kate.


	17. Chapter 17

Ah, Italia chapter 17

Things heat up with Tony and Ziva! And not in a good way

A/N: Sorry for delay on this part. Computer ate the original (twice!) and I had to retype the whole thing (twice!). Auto-backup feature not so 'auto'.

* * *

Naples, Italy

0845 local

"Good morning, Detective Bianchi," Tony said, walking up to the Naples police detective and shaking his hand. "How can NCIS help be of service today?" Tony was uncertain why he was here. The victim, a male in his late 40s, was Napoli, not American. At first glance, there didn't appear to be anything that indicated American naval or marine personnel involvement. Still, when the detective had called earlier requesting NCIS come to a crime scene, Tony had readily agreed, deciding this would be a chance to ingratiate himself with the Naples police. Tony had learned since first meeting Detective Bianchi that Kip Bellasario had been well-regarded before his untimely demise. Bringing Vince along with him would give an opportunity to get a better feel for the other agents abilities.

Nico smiled at the NCIS. "It is, perhaps, I who can be of service to NCIS, Agent DiNozzo," he said, leading the two men through the tiny apartment towards the bathroom. Two men, wearing the jackets signifying them as members of the Naples Crime Scene Unit, were busy taking photographs and dusting for fingerprints. The apartment was small, barely 600 square feet, by American standards. The resident hadn't been much of a house cleaner. Trash was everywhere, along with numerous empty wine bottles. There were a few scattered photos which, judging by their age, were of the victims parents. There was no indication that the victim had been married or had a family.

Tony stood in the doorway to the bathroom, wincing slightly at the grizzly scene. The victim lay on the floor, mouth agape, looking up at the heavens. He was wearing an undershirt and boxers, both of which were soaked with his blood, and barefoot. The coroner, a grim-faced, slightly built woman in her late 30's with long curly brown hair, looked up at the newcomers and nodded. "Messy," was all Tony could think to say. "Who is he?"

"Pietra Gallo," said Nico, holding up the victims wallet and security badge. "He is a supervisor with the Port Authority. We are checking with them to find out more about his duties there. The downstairs neighbor reported to the manager blood seeping through the ceiling. The manager checked the apartment and called us in hysterics."

"Any idea what the motive could've been?" Tony asked. "Judging by the look of his apartment, I doubt it was the jealous husband of a lover."

Nico nearly laughed. He'd had the same thought earlier. "Nothing yet. However, when I first arrived and saw the body, I realized that you might find this interesting." He motioned for the coroner to step outside and took her place in the room. Tony leaned in closer as Nico turned Pietra's head. Tony's expression grew grim as he saw the cause of death. A single stab wound to the left side of the neck, curving as if the knife had been twisted after being inserted.

Tony considered his options. The murder occurred in the jurisdiction of the Naples police but there was a high probability that the killer was the same one who had killed Sergeant Goldman a few days before. Politically speaking, the last thing Tony wanted was a turf war with Bianchi over the murder scene and victim. The whole process of taking over a case here in Italy was far more complicated than in the States. He had been surprised at all the paperwork involved in even the simplest of cases. Tony sighed before speaking. "Unless you have any objections, detective Bianchi, NCIS will take over this case. Please have your people stop what they're doing. Vince, go grab our gear from the car and start processing the scene. I'll call Kate and Lisa and have them get over here."

"And the body?" asked Nico.

"Leave it. I'll have our medical examiner come by and pick it up. Oh, and I'll need your witness statements and everything you've processed so far."

Nico nodded and began barking orders to his men.

* * *

Naples, Italy

1430 local

Kate walked around the market, sipping on a cappuccino as she waited for Andreas to arrive. The possibility that this was a trap existed but she doubted it. Andreas was an honorable man, in his own fashion, and he owed her a debt. He would her an even bigger debt if NCIS could stop Manelli's gun smuggling operation. The information she'd been able to get from her contacts in the Naples police force indicated that Manelli was in the opening stages of a power grab within the Camorra. Manelli was using the influence earned from successfully running the arms ring to force another family to merge with his. Such moves were not uncommon in the Mafia but seldom happened without loss of life. Taking into consideration that the targeted family was run by a close friend of Andreas's, the potential for a nasty war was high.

"Ciao, Katherine," she heard Andreas call to her. Turning, she smiled at the grinning mobster. She accepted a kiss on each cheek in greeting from him. "How are you this afternoon?" he said, turning around and wrapping his arm around hers. If he noticed her sudden wariness, he gave no sign.

"I'm fine, Andreas. How are you?" She walked in step with him as he led her down the street.

"I am well, thank you." Andreas nodded, suddenly deep in thought. "Katherine, this is a dangerous business we are all involved in now."

"Because of how Manelli's pressuring Enrico?" Kate said, hoping to draw a response from Andreas who, surprisingly, nodded. That did not bode well. Still, NCIS wasn't interested in a mob war, only in stopping the weapons thefts. In the, literally, cutthroat world of the Mafia, Andreas was seen by many as a moderate voice. He conducted 'business" as had been done for generations but with little of the bloodthirstiness of some of the younger capos.

"In part, yes," Andreas admitted. "Manelli has been getting very bold the last few years. This new business of his has garnered him much support from the other families. It makes dealing with him more difficult."

"How so?"

"Even amongst my associates, he is a very arrogant man. Very little respect for those who have been in the business longer than him. Bah, I doubt he respects anything. The things he taught his niece, Francesca, to do," Andreas shook his head disconsolately. "Women do not belong in our business."

"Is there anything you can tell me? Anything that relates to the case?"

Andreas looked back at his bodyguards and made a dismissive motion with his head. The two men turned and stepped away, leaving Andreas and Kate alone. "Manelli has a man inside NCIS. I do not know who but he is well-connected."

Kate felt like someone was walking on her grave. A mob informant inside NCIS? It didn't seem possible. Everyone was rigorously checked annually. "You're certain of this," she said, wearily.

"Yes."

"No wonder we've been having so much trouble trying to crack this case," Kate said.

Andreas had put much thought into revealing that piece of information. Having NCIS distracted while it conducted its own internal mole hunt would certainly work well for some of his own plans. "I am not privy to the information being passed but, according to my sources, it is of the highest quality."

"Anything else?"

"Your Israeli associate. She should be very careful from now on," Andreas said, before giving Kate a kiss on the cheek. "Be very careful, bella. I see a great deal of death in the near future."

* * *

Via Chiaia

Naples, Italy

Ziva walked along the Via Chiaia, looking at the various artisan shops and admiring the many things for sale. Her primary goal for the afternoon was to find a nice dress for the wedding. Despite gruesomeness of the murder scene she'd been at earlier, she felt a giddiness that she'd not felt she had been a little girl. She knew Tony was the only man for her, in spite of, or, perhaps, because of, the vast differences between them. Since the wedding was going to be a civil affair at the town hall, they had agreed yesterday to keep things simple. She had looked through several shops but had not found anything yet to her liking. Finally, she stopped in front of one store front, admiring a dress. It was a Chiffon gown, sleeveless with a V-neckline, crystal beading and a sequined bodice. The dress was completed with illusion shoulder straps and an asymmetrical hemline. Tony would love it. Almost as much as he would love getting her out of it.

The ringing of her cellphone distracted her from her wedding night wondering. She frowned as at the number. Not Tony. Kate. "Shalom, Kate." Even as Ziva answered the phone, she felt her 'spidey-sense', as Tony called it, go off. She checked the reflection in the store window and saw two very large, husky men were standing roughly six meters behind and to her right. One of them was looking back and forth between her and something on his cellphone, a photo of her, no doubt, while the other was scowling in her direction. The men were locals, judging by their build and clothes.

"Where are you?" asked Kate, somewhat frantically.

"Via Chiaia," Ziva replied, moving at a steady pace away from the store. She immediately began looking for escape routes, checking sight lines, searching for police officers. She had her Sig in her hip holster but starting a gun battle in one of the busiest areas of Naples was not an option. "What's going on?"

"I just got word from my contact that Manelli's put a contract out on you," Kate informed her.

"What?" Ziva said, trying to speak in a normal tone. "How do they even know who I am?"

"I can't explain right now but they know you're Mossad and that you're out to stop the arms smugglers," Kate continued. "Tony and Vince are on their way. They should be there in ten minutes."

Ziva stopped in front of another store and checked the reflection again. "I don't have ten minutes."

* * *

A/N: The dress Ziva's looking at is an actual dress by Alfred Angelo. It's style 1127, if you want to see what it looks like.


	18. Chapter 18

Ah, Italia chapter 18

this one's gonna be long on drama and heavy on Tiva!

* * *

Via Chiaia

Naples, Italy

Ziva looked around the bustling crowd for something she could use as a distraction. There were too many civilians in the area to try anything drastic. Life was not like the cinema. In such tight quarters, a bullet fired at close range could pass completely through the target and hit a innocent bystander standing behind him. Fire discipline had been rigorously ingrained into her by her father many years ago. The job of a Kidon was to eliminate the enemies of Israel in a clean, precise manner. Civilian casualties were to be avoided at all costs. She smiled grimly at the thought. The mob thugs were unlikely to be so inclined.

In her favor, Ziva had familiarized herself with this part of Naples shortly after her teams arrival, partly to become more familiar with the city (and also because there were some wonderful shops there). Looking around to get her bearings, Ziva spotted an alleyway leading away from the crowds. It didn't offer much shelter but was wide enough for her to make a stand without worrying about collateral damage. She took a quick mental stock of the weapons she was carrying: Sig Sauer 9mm pistol on her hip, belt knife on her other hip and .38 snub nose revolver in a left ankle holster. Both guns were loaded with hollow point rounds.

Ziva almost froze in her tracks when she spotted two more thugs looking her way. They were farther away than the two following her but moving steadily towards her. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. "Aharon, do not respond. Just do what I say" she said when the line picked up. "I'm being targeted by several of Manelli's thugs." She gave him her current location. "Prepare an emergency extraction. NCIS is on its way but I do not think they will get here in time. If not, I'll deal with as many of them as I can. Lock on to my cell's GPS and get to me as quickly as possible."

"Understood," came the response.

Ziva hung up the phone and as she put it in her jacket pocket, it rang again. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Shalom, Tony."

"Hey, how's it looking?"

"Could be worse. There are four of them. Two ahead. Two behind. I have called for an extraction but I not certain they will get here in time," she said calmly. It struck her as mildly humorous that she had assets from two governments at her beck and call and yet she was completely alone when she needed them.

"Can you stall?"

Ziva did a slow three-sixty degree turn and looked at her pursuers. Three of the four looked competent enough while the fourth looked barely out of his teens. "Not for very long, I think. Do not worry. I have been in tighter situations."

Tony swore. "Traffic's grinding to a halt. Looks like there's been an accident up ahead. Hold on." Ziva heard Tony give Vince some instructions and then heard a door slam. "Ok, I'm on foot now. I'm three minutes from your location. Hang tight, babe. I'm on the way."

Ziva smiled to herself as Tony hung up the phone. It was so adorable that he was trying to protect her, even though he knew better. It also reminded her how much she meant to him. And, how much he meant to her. Those thoughts and feelings gave her that much more motivation to survive. Ziva stopped walking and slowly turned around again, taking careful notice of the positioning of both teams of hitmen. She felt flattered, in a odd way. Manelli considered her enough of a threat to send two teams, instead of one, after her. Two or four men, it made no difference to her. She was Kidon and was well-trained and experienced in these matters. Calmly, Ziva moved off to the alley way.

* * *

"_Federal agent!_ _Out of the way!_" Tony yelled loudly in Italian as he ran. The crowd parted before him but some people either didn't hear or see him until it was too late, causing a few to stumble and fall. Tony dodged an elderly couple, bumped into a really large man eating a sandwich and causing him to drop it and nearly lost his footing as he made a turn onto a street leading to Via Chiaia.

He tried not to think about the danger Ziva was in. Intellectually, he knew she was more than match for any two or three men, even highly trained special forces personnel. He chided himself for worrying. Ziva could handle special forces personnel because she was special forces. Kidon. The elite assassin division within Mossad. She was fully capable of dealing out massive amounts of death and destruction.

If anything happened to her, he swore he'd kill Manelli himself.

"Kate!" Tony shouted into his cellphone. "Where is she?"

"Um, yeah. Keep going till you hit Via Chiaia then turn right."

"On it," Tony said. He knew better than to run full speed and fought the urge to do so. If he was winded when he caught up to her, then he would not be of much use if she were still in trouble. It was better to keep steady stride that wouldn't leave him too tired to fight. Seconds later, he reached Via Chiaia and turned right. "Now what?"

"Go down another 30 meters. There's an alley on your right. That's where her GPS is holding steady."

* * *

As he approached the alley where Ziva was, Tony paused for a moment. He could clearly hear the sounds of a struggle coming from the alley. Tony abruptly spun around and raised his gun. "VINCE!" he choked off, nearly shooting the other NCIS agent.

"Sorry, boss," Vince said, somewhat out of breath. "I couldn't make any headway in traffic so I ditched the car a block back."

Tony nodded. Whoever said Naples traffic was insane was being generous. He idly wondered if Ziva had learned to drive here. Tony glanced up as two police cars pulled up nearby. Four _poliziotti_ (police officers) got out of the two cars. Three of them walked cautiously over towards Tony and Vince while the fourth was speaking to someone on the police radio. Tony pulled out his credentials and waved the men off to the side. Tony drew his sidearm and waited as Vince pulled out his gun. "Ready?" he said, just before turning to go down the alley. Tony let out a sigh of relief when he saw Ziva walking towards them.

Vince and Tony approached Ziva, guns pointed down. Behind them, the three _poliziotti_ followed them at a safe distance. Tony watched curiously as Ziva dusted off her jacket, smiled and walked towards them. Stopping in front of Tony, she looked up and met his gaze. "You weren't worried about me, were you, Tony?" she asked.

"Vince, check the alley. Have the _poliziotti_ secure the area while I call Kate and have her and Jamie get down here," Tony ordered before turn his attention back to Ziva. "Officer Meier, it's nice to see you alive and well. I trust there were no... problems?"

"No, it is unfortunate how things played out but I had little choice," Ziva replied. "I was inclined to capture at least one, so as to interrogate him for information. Their tactics and choice of weapons left me no choice but to use more direct methods of stopping them."

Tony nodded. Ziva was flush with excitement. The chance to do battle against a larger, better-armed force was intoxicating to her. It bothered him that she could get so turned on by violence but it was a facet of her personality that intrigued and disturbed him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"DAMN! That HAD to hurt!" Vince exclaimed from somewhere in the alleyway.

"As am I," she commented.

"Bad?"

"Not particularly. Only one of them had any real skill. He was most likely ex-military," Ziva said.

"Was?"

"Was," Ziva said matter-of-factly. She said nothing when Tony nodded. He knew what she was capable of. She glanced up as she saw a black Ducati motorcycle arrive. She recognized the driver as Rivka and nodded to her. "I must go, for now. I will send you my report later."

"Oh, sure, leave me to explain this mess," Tony quipped.

"I will see you later, Tony," Ziva stated firmly. "Oh, and do not forget to have the_ poliziotti _destroy any photos any bystanders might have taken of me."

"Right." He agreed, watching her once again walk away from him. He knew she had to leave now. Manelli was not the type to give up easily. He would try to have her killed again.

But, not if Tony got to him first.

* * *

Later that evening

Tony entered his hotel room, tired and worn out from a long afternoon of paperwork and working out jurisdiction conflicts with the _poliziotti_. As soon as he walked in, he knew something was wrong and immediately drew his sidearm. Resting on his bed was an overnight bag that he knew wasn't his. He tossed the bag of take out food on to the dining table. Someone was in the bathroom. It struck him as an odd place for a would-be assassin to lurk. He waited by the bathroom door. Just as he was going to open the door, it swung open. Ziva stepped out, fresh from a shower. Her hair was wrapped in a towel while another (barely) covered her torso.

"Hey," was all he could think to say. He wanted her so much and here she was.

"Heya, back," she whispered huskily. "I hope you brought enough food for two," she commented, glancing at the bag.

"We'll have to share it," he said.

"We're going to be sharing a lot of things in the future, I think," Ziva replied.

"Yeah."

"It's very romantic, don't you think?"

"How's that?"

"You bringing home dinner. Me bringing dessert."

Seconds later, both towels were on the floor.

* * *

A/N: I strongly considered adding in the fight scene where Ziva takes on and beats four killers. Choreographing it proved a bit of a challenge (Chuck Norris, I'm not), so I left it out. 'Sides it added to the tension. :)


	19. Chapter 19

Ah, Italia chapter 19

Nothing but Tiva this time around

------------------

Tony's hotel room

0418 local

Ziva woke up, all senses alert. She was in bed with Tony, resting after a wildly passionate evening with Tony. Ziva lay on her stomach, naked with the flimsy bed linen covering only her bare bottom. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her back. The soft caress of his hand. "Did I wake you?" Ziva asked, turning on to her side to face him. She knew he found her snoring disturbing. Almost as much as his snoring bothered her. It was an argument that they'd had since their first undercover operation years ago.

"Ya know," Tony confessed. "I actually missed it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hearing it reminds me of just how lucky I am," Tony explained.

Ziva chuckled. "Wow, that was drippy coming from you."

Tony paused for a second to figure out what she meant. "Sappy."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She giggled as Tony pulled her close and kissed her. He rolled them over so that he was on top of her. "I love you, too, Tony," she said, several breathless moments later. As they kissed, Ziva felt a tension in him she hadn't noticed before. It was like he was assuring himself that she was here, alive and well. "What is it?"

Tony's expression turned serious when looked at her before replying. "I could have lost you today. In fact, I swore I'd kill Manelli if anything happened to you."

"That's very sweet," she said, trying to sooth the anger in him. "But, I can take care of myself." The look in his eyes was one she'd rarely seen. Tony wanted vengeance. The first time she'd seen it was when they had first met, hours after her brother, Ari, had killed Tony's partner, Caitlin Todd. She knew he was too strong to act independently on those feelings. Her heart was aflutter that his feelings for her were so intense. Her mind told her to pounce now while he was distracted. "Thanks for dinner," Ziva said, changing the subject. "It was delicious."

Tony smiled. "Thanks for dessert. It was just what I needed." He took a long moment to let his eyes wander over her well-toned and muscular body. A few more days and she would Mrs. DiNozzo.

Ziva laughed. "Is that why you came back for seconds?"

Laughing, Tony kissed her again before replying. "Well, I've always had something of a sweet tooth."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Is that what you call it, 'Sex Machine?'" she teased him, running her hand across his chest. In spite of the hedonistic lifestyle he normally led, Tony was in excellent physical condition. He worked out regularly to maintain the lean, hard muscled athletic form he had developed in his youth. In a few days, he would be all hers.

"Where'd you hear that?" Tony said in a shocked tone. He knew he had never told her his college nickname. Gibbs might have heard it from Kate Todd but he was never the gossipy type. It had to have been McGee. Thoughts of a suitable revenge popped into his mind and just as quickly faded. It's hard to concentrate, he had realized years earlier, when a beautiful, naked woman was running her hand across your chest.

"Does it matter?" she replied. God, he was all muscle. She raised an eyebrow when she saw his mood shift again. No more anger. More curiosity. "What is it?"

"Just wondering. Why 'Lisa Meier?'" Tony asked. "I understand the need for operational security on a mission but isn't the whole double identity thing a little clichéd? Who does that anymore when it's so easy to get information off the Internet?"

Ziva gave him a quick peck on the lips then sighed, shaking her head. "It's a protocol that still used on occasion. Certain high-level operatives are given cover identities in case the mission is compromised and other team members are captured and tortured for information."

"If they don't know who you really are, then they can't tell the enemy their boss is the Director's daughter," Tony finished for her. "Ok, that makes sense. Seems a little old-school, though."

"Well," Ziva sighed, "it was the Director's idea. I didn't agree with it but, he said he had his reasons."

"Like me not getting in touch with you," Tony said somberly. "I guess he got tired of me emailing every day wondering where you were and how to get in touch with you."

"You are persistent," Ziva chuckled. "It is one of the many things I love about you."

"Like my encyclopedia knowledge of cinema, my amazing fashion sense..." Tony's face turned red abruptly. Ziva was very strong, he remembered, with a propensity for grabbing a certain body part when she wanted to make a point. "What was that for?" he gasped.

"You spend too much time talking when you should be attending to more important things," Ziva said, kissing him on the lips. Tony's response was predictable. He returned the kiss fervently. Their lips crushed against each other for several long minutes. Finally, Ziva pulled away to catch her breath. He really was a sex machine. "I have a question for you, now," she said. "Two questions actually."

"Sure," Tony said, a little frustrated. "How may I enlighten you?"

"What are you going to do after the case is closed?"

Tony shrugged. "Stay here. I'm the SAIC for the next two years. It's time for me to put everything I learned from Gibbs to good use." He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he missed working with the DC team. His new team would never be the same as the one he'd left behind. Kate was the only one who came close to being as good an agent as he was. Jamie definitely had some issues going on and Vince wasn't up to Gibbs' standards.

"So, you'll be moving out of here and into an apartment?"

"Yeah. I've done some looking but haven't had the time to do any in depth research, much less actually go look at one. Do you have any feature requests like, a Kosher kitchen? Hot tub? Bathtub big enough for two?"

"A Kosher kitchen would be nice," Ziva said after reflecting on it for a moment. She looked up at him shyly. "We could live in a hut on the beach and I'd be happy."

"Now, who's getting sappy," Tony remarked. "How certain are you that you'll be able to talk your father into letting resume your job as a Liaison Officer?"

Ziva's grin made him stare at her. "Very. Once we're married, Poppa will have no choice but to reassign me here. He'll have no choice."

"Why's that?" Tony's cop instincts kicked in at that moment. She seemed extremely confident in returning to Naples. Ziva clearly knew more than she was letting on.

"Momma."

"Excuse me?"

"My mother."

"I got that."

"I told her about us. And the engagement. She's very happy for me and wants to meet you."

Tony nodded in agreement. "I'd like to meet Momma David sometime."

"Anyway, she wants what every mother wants when their daughter meets the right man."

"Grandkids," Tony guessed.

"Yes. And, it's hard to do that if we're on separate continents."

"Wow," Tony said. He thought about that for a moment. "You want to have kids?"

"Yes. Don't you?" Ziva asked, a little concerned.

"Absolutely. I can't think of anyone else to have little DiNozzo's with." This remark led to more passionate kissing. Tony felt a familiar ache and blushed when Ziva noticed his reaction. Thankfully, she said nothing.

"My other question," she began.

"Yes?"

"How do we break the news to everyone? My parents? Everyone in DC?"

Tony thought about that for a moment. He found himself lost in thought as he pondered the question. Sensing the moment she'd been waiting for since awakening, Ziva grasped him firmly with her legs, then leveraged her weight, flipped him onto his back and rolled over on top of him. She flushed as Tony quickly recovered from his surprise. She noted smugly that he was quite obviously enjoying the new view. She smiled wickedly at him, enjoying his surprised look and eying various... parts of him. "You are not the only one with a sweet tooth, my love."


End file.
